Grammar, he saw, was agreement, community, consensus.

People are always invoking evolutionary psychology for everything. "Why do men hang around asking women out? Oh, to improve their reproductive success," every damn thing - religion, art - it can all be explained by evolutionary psychology. But in our hearts we know that evolutionary psychology is only sort of accurate, because it really doesn't capture what's most interesting about our lives.

Any good biography has to got to lead you to the work. Many biographers have started out in love with their subjects and ended up hating them.

Shock equals discovery, and if I narrated my past, you'd be pretty grossed out too, I bet - same as if you narrated yours. Aren't we all composed of our past mistakes? Isn't that part of emerging into an adult awareness of the world?

Grammar, he saw, was agreement, community, consensus.

Comfort and solace come about differently for different people.

As a writer I'm not an explainer, really. I'm a narrator. I mistrust explanation.