She was developing what Mom called a bit of a sarcastic streak.

But I also hoped that [she] had chosen California because she thought that was her true home, the place where she really belonged, where it was always warm and you could dance in the rain, pick grapes right off the vines, and sleep outside at night under the stars.

I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes.

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.

...even though I was getting better education at home than any of the kids in Toyah, I'd need to go to finishing school when I was thirteen, both to acquire social graces and to earn a diploma. Because in this world, Dad said, it's not enough to have a fine education. You need a piece of paper to prove you go it.

My life is not just about the past.

Once you'd resolved to go, there was nothing to it at all.