The television replaced the sound of conversation that was missing from my grandparents' lives.

He remained heartbroken, which meant one of two things: either his love was pure and true and earthshakingly significant; or he was addicted to feeling forlorn, he liked being heartbroken.

I remember liking to write stories pretty early on. In fourth or fifth grade, they would give us the beginning of a story, and we were supposed to finish it. I remember liking that. But I didn't think about deciding to become a writer until high school at about the age of 16.

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

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

We Greeks are a moody people. Suicide makes sense to us. Putting up Christmas lights after your own daughter does it--that makes no sense. What my yia yia could never understand about America was why everyone pretended to be happy all the time.” -Mrs. Karafilis

Maybe the best proof that the language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling.