Everything I know about life I learned from the daily practice of sitting down to write.

Devotion, as it relates to the title of my memoir, means fidelity - as in fidelity to a person or a practice. I think it's certainly possible to feel devotion without having faith, at least in the religious sense of the word.

In every generation there is a vault-keeper, one who guards the links fiercely and knows they are more precious than rubies.

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

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.

The truth is in the present moment.

As writers, it is our job not only to imagine, but to witness.