I had a briefcase at one point, but it was a kind of 1980s New Wave briefcase. It was made of some kind of cardboard and it had metal hinges. It was kind of faux industrial looking, and I used to carry my books in it rather than a backpack. I didn't want to have normal student accoutrements.

In the end, it wasn't death that surprised her but the stubbornness of life.

She was a large, disordered woman, like a child's drawing that didn't stay within the lines.

That was the deal basically: catatonia without; frenzy within

Chunks of his life fell away, so that while we were moving ahead in time, he was moving back.

What if you had faith and performed good works, what if you died and went to heaven, and what if all the people you met there were people you didn't like?

Everyone struggles against despair, but it always wins in the end. It has to. It's the thing that lets us say goodbye.