I write out of gratitude for all the books I have loved over the years.

I was wholly invested in my friendships. I might have tested them sometimes, but only to reassure myself that they were permanent. A mistake, of course.

People who read Anne Lamott, like people who read Anne Rice, believe that tragedy is romantic, but the people who read Anne Lamott believe it ironically.

What I wanted was to write a memoir that was immersive rather than reflective, to resurrect a long-gone version of my own consciousness. I kept expecting that sooner or later the effort would come to seem like second nature to me, but it never did.

I always try to stay as quiet as possible about a book until it's finished.

I had always been the kind of boy who was quick to laugh and quick to cry.

The living carry us inside them like pearls. We survive only so long as they remember us.