Michael Lowenthal has written a big-hearted and wise book about familial love in all its richness and complexity.

Maggie Shipstead takes hold of the reader and doesn't let go. Astonish Me is a haunting, powerful novel.

From spiritual connection springs kindness, connection, social activism, and love.

When a writer's whole being is poured into a piece of work, there is never enough. The feeling of finally getting to the end of a piece of work, of making it as good as you can at that moment, is more of a relief than anything else, and then you wait for reviews.

In a creative journey, it is essential, no matter how far one runs, to examine that which is closest to home.

Everything changes. The more I try to hold on to the moment, the more it slips through my fingers.

When I was growing up, I had no idea that I could possibly become a writer. I wrote endlessly in journals - a practice I maintained for a long time, well into the writing life I had no idea I could ever have.