Loving someone is a loss of freedom - but one doesn't think of it as loss because one gains so much else.

But we should ask the question: Why should a writer be more than a writer? Why should a writer be a guru? Why are we supposed to be psychiatrists? Isn't it enough to write and tell the truth? It's not like telling the truth is common. Writers are the earthworms of society. We aerate the soil. That's enough.

If you apologize for something that isn't your fault in the first place, you, in effect, confirm their belief that it is your fault.

I actually think leaving your children alone to fantasize, to write, to make projects on their own is good for them. Breathing down their necks is a form of control. Children should have their own space.

If, every day, I dare to remember that I am here on loan, that this house, this hillside, these minutes are all leased to me, not given, I will never despair.

All my forebears worked for a living. My grandfather painted portraits. My mother too. My aunt painted seascapes.

They keep saying the right person will come along. I think mine got hit by a truck.