No matter how hard you try to be present at home, you're always doing the things that you have to do.

Open your heart. Someone will come. Someone will come for you. But first you must open your heart. (Old Doll)

So many miracles have not yet happened.

I think for everybody reading can be a solace, illumination, education.

We were 15 minutes into it and nothing was happening; I thought, well, that's not going to work. Then all of a sudden everything clicked. I don't know how long it took us, but I would just show up at Alison's [McGhee] office. She would type and we'd just kick it back and forth. Writing is so scary for me, such a lonely endeavor, and it became a wonderful thing to show up and have somebody else go through it with me. It was actually a wonderful experience.

I have learned how to love. And it's a terrible thing. I'm broken. My heart is broken. Help me.

There," she said. She rocked him back and forth. "There, you foolish, beautiful boy who wants to change the world. There, there. And who could keep from loving you? Who could keep from loving a boy so brave and true?