Confidence doesn't come from thinking you're perfect or flawless. That's arrogance. Confidence comes from appreciating the beauty of your texture.

It's so much of what art and creativity are, being able to confront your own demons. If you can do that, you can get through just about everything.

[Optimism] acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Life's too short to care about what other people think. Besides, they should accept us for who we are

When someone's wounded, the first order of business is to stop the bleeding. You can figure out later how best to help them heal.

Memoir is about handing over you life to someone and saying, This is what I went through, this is who I am, and maybe you can learn something from it.

Mom told us we would have to go shoplifting. Isn't that a sin?" I asked Mom. Not exactly," Mom said. "God doesn't mind you bending the rules a little if you have a good reason. It's sort of like justifiable homicide. This is justifiable pilfering.