Sex is ... scratching an itch Everything else is something we project on a very simple act. It's the psychology, not the biology, that's complicated.

If we give up the notion that everybody’s life is perfect but ours, we would be a lot happier. Nobody’s life is perfect.

A dedication to perfection means that we are doomed always to be just a heartbeat way - from exposure. Perfection is unchanging; lives are ongoing.

When in doubt, do the obvious.

Just trying to do something - just being there, showing up - is how we get braver. Self-esteem is about doing.

Getting enough of what you want without depriving anyone else is the ultimate act of selfishness and sanity.

The American notion of family is perhaps the most romanticized, deep-rooted, and misery-producing fantasy of the last hundred years.