A mouth of no distinction but well practiced, before I entered my teens, in irony. For what is irony but the repository of hurt? And what is hurt but the repository of hope?

Not even the most devastating truth can be told; it must be evoked.

A diverse and lively collection, the highest art of the interview.

I'm nobody's daughter now. I'm through with that.

The suicide does not play the game, does not observe the rules. He leaves the party too soon, and leaves the other guests painfully uncomfortable.

In a family, what isn't spoken is what you listen for. But the noise of a family is to drown it out.

My parents inspired me by their example. They both grew up in the Depression, and both of them had to quit school when they were quite young to work, because there actually was no choice. So they've always impressed me with their resilience, their good spirits, their courage. I just remember them carrying on and just doing their lives. They really made a strong impression on me.