Well, I'm a slow writer. For me, a good day is a page, maybe a page and a half. I'd love to be more efficient, but I am not.

He tried to name which of the deadly seven might apply, and when he failed he decided to append an eighth, regret.

I had never taken creative writing classes. Hadn't even considered it.

Disease is nature's revenge for our destructiveness.

I remember my father checking on a mountain kid who hadn't been coming to school. My father had this beautiful Harris tweed overcoat. He came back with a knife cut all down one side. The parents had told him it was none of his business why their son wasn't going to school.

[No] matter what a waste one has made of one's life, it is ever possible to find some path to redemption, however partial.

She always carried a book, though, in case she needed to read a few pages to avoid unwanted conversation.