I think so much about how we read, about the nature of solitude, and of community, is changing in ways that none of us yet understand.

Traces that live within us often lead us to our stories

If you write memoir, it can't be about blame or hurt; it has to be creative.

What's more important that spiritual life? It seems to me it's the bedrock of everything essential about being human.

We're all simultaneously separated and connected by our devices, staring into our little screens, and also hungry for experience and community.

A writer with her work needs to be like a dog with a bone all the time. She needs to know where she's hidden it. Where she's stored the good stuff. She needs to keep gnawing at it, even after all the meat seems to be gone. When a student of mine says (okay, whines) that she's impatient, or tired, or the worst: isn't it good enough? this may be harsh, but she loses just a little bit of my respect. Because there is no room for impatience, or exhaustion, or self-satisfaction, or laziness. All of these really mean, simply, that the inner censor has won the day.

If we grew up with nothing, we're complicated with that. That's the thing I keep hearing from people.