If a man wishes to truly not be written about, he would do well not to write letters to 18-year-old girls, inviting them into his life.

For a parent, it's hard to recognize the significance of your work when you're immersed in the mundane details. Few of us, as we run the bath water or spread the peanut butter on the bread, proclaim proudly, "I'm making my contribution to the future of the planet." But with the exception of global hunger, few jobs in the world of paychecks and promotions compare in significance to the job of parent.

[On home births:] In a house where there had been three people, there were now four, although no one had come in the door.

The painter who feels obligated to depict his subjects as uniformly beautiful or handsome and without flaws will fall short of making art.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too.

Not only did I avoid speaking of Salinger; I resisted thinking about him. I did not reread his letters to me. The experience had been too painful.

Imagine if you succeeded in making the world perfect for your children what a shock the rest of life would be for them.