Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour," she'd ask us, "when in the same amount of time, I can do a painting that will last forever?

I wondered if the fire had been out to get me. I wondered if all fire was related, like Dad said all humans were related, if the fire that had burned me that day while I cooked hot dogs was somehow connected o the fire I had flushed down the toilet and the fire burning at the hotel. I didn't have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that 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.

All seasons have something to offer

Too much hard luck can create a permanent meanness of spirit in any creature.

Don't be afraid of your dark places. ... If you can shine a light on them, you'll find treasure there.

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.

She had her addictions and one of them was reading.