Long after Salinger sent me away, I continued to believe his standards and expectations were the best ones.

I believe every one of us possesses a fundamental right to tell our own story.

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

I had known there had been a serial killer on Mount Tamalpais, and it felt so incongruous in such a beautiful, peaceful spot.

I'd known enough flush times and lean ones to understand that money came and went. And that one day I'd also lose my looks, my seemingly boundless energy and maybe the ability to catch the eye of an attractive man and the audacity to Rollerblade. My name would be forgotten. So would bad reviews, and good ones. But loving a child is something that lasts. Long after all the rest is gone, that's what endures.

No, I said. I didn't remember that. There was so much to remember, sometimes the best thing was to forget.

My job is writing. I get paid to do it. When was the last time you heard someone challenge a doctor for making money off of cancer?