I felt as if I had no control over what I said, as if loathsome, ugly words were waiting inside me like snakes and toads looking for a chance to sneak out before I could stop them.

I couldn’t live with myself if I thought nothing could get better.

They were all brilliant. They wrote books and painted pictures, and if they ever stopped talking, which I was sure they would never do, they planned to change the world.

You're making yourself too important. Guilt comes from feeling we're at the center of the universe. We're not.

But what doesn’t die is the love we give to others. There is no end to that.

I liked having some time to myself. Our family was such a close one, you could get smothered. Of course, we didn't always agree with one another. Sometimes I quarreled with my brother and sisters, but I couldn't remember hating anyone for more than five minutes.

I thought I understood what was best. I knew too little and believed too soon.