Rumi will transform you, in ways you didn’t know you needed transforming.

I didn't really start publishing books until I was 40 because I was busy being a McDonald's employee. So there's always a sense of trying to make up for lost time.

The second time I took acid, I watched myself in the mirror for nine hours. What I realized, when I stared, was that my face looked exactly the same when I cried as when I laughed. After awhile I couldn't tell which I was doing. Relief was just pain inside out.

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.

The art and act of writing - speaking just for myself - involves getting your proverbial ass in the proverbial chair.

In my family, misery didn't just love company, it wanted hostages.

I don't really know how to do much else besides write.