I believe, sometimes, that the whole world has an aching heart.

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 not Googled myself. I have not looked at myself on Amazon. It could drive you wild.

But let's not speak of what might have been. Let us speak instead of what is. You are whole.

A friend of mine said Winn-Dixie is the way that people want the world to be and Tiger Rising is the way that it is.

Once upon a time," he said out loud to the darkness. He said these words because they were the best, the most powerful words that he knew and just the saying of them comforted him.

The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.