Amy adored both the new look and the new person it allowed her to be. Following the photo shoot, she wore her bruises to the dry cleaner and the grocery store. Most people nervously looked away, but on the rare occasions someone would ask what happened, my sister would smile as brightly as possible, saying, 'I'm in love. Can you believe it? I'm finally, totally in love, and I feel great.

But most good movies have a gun in them.

I hated leaving a hole in the smoking world, and so I recruited someone to take my place. People have given me a lot of grief, but I'm pretty sure that after high school, this girl would have started anyway, especially if she chose the army over community college.

The fake slap invariably makes contact, adding the elements of shock and betrayal to what had previously been plain old-fashioned fear.

I started writing when I was twenty. My first book came out when I was thirty-five. But I never expected that it would happen quickly.

Write relentlessly, until you find your voice. Then, use it.

At first, writing for The New Yorker was very scary to me. I couldn't imagine anything that I would write in that typeface.