I think that writers are, at best, outsiders to the society they inhabit. They have a kind of detachment, or try to have.

Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean - make sure they know what they mean!

It's not right to hurt or deceive someone who's already been hurt and deceived.

Writing is hard. I learned how to work hard from wrestling, not English courses.

I will tell you what is my overriding perception of the last twenty years: that we are a civilization careening toward a succession of anticlimaxes – toward an infinity of unsatisfying, and disagreeable endings.

No one but me ever put a hand on me to feel that baby. No one wanted to put his ear against it and listen...You shouldn't have a baby if there's no one who wants to feel it kick or listen to it move.

Because who can describe that look that triggers the memory of loved ones? Who can anticipate the frown, the smile, or the misplaced lock of hair that sends a swift, undeniable signal from the past? Who can ever estimate the power of association, which is always strongest in moments of love and in memories of death?