Running taught me to have faith in my skills as a writer. I learned how much I can demand of myself, when I need a break, and when the break starts to get too long. I known how hard I am allowed to push myself.

Start making excuses and there's no end to it. I can't live that kind of life.

Not that we were incompatible: we just had nothing to talk about.

If you think God’s there, He is. If you don’t, He isn’t. And if that’s what God’s like, I wouldn’t worry about it.

If she did experience sex-or something close to it-in high school, I'm sure it would have been less out of sexual desire or love than literary curiosity.

Spending plenty of time on something can be the most sophisticated form of revenge.

The rain that fell on the city runs down the dark gutters and empties into the sea without even soaking the ground