You may think you don't want to throw your life away for mere fleeting euphoria. But, once you get a taste, it doesn't feel so mere. From then on the planet becomes a waiting room. The rest of your life devolves to no more than the time between highs.

All my life I'd gone for women who were a little off.

There's no deodorant for desperation.

It's not like I was an alkie or anything. Alcohol is for cleaning needles

Half the reason I turned into a writer is you didn't have to show up anywhere. You could work naked.

I used to say, for me, writing was like walking a high wire, and heroin made me forget there was no net. Which is a fancy way of saying dope made me forget how shitty I felt for being on dope.

This is, I believe, what happens when people take their own lives. They're not killing themselves, they're killing the world. Either to spare it pain or to cause it some, depending.