It was like looking at a knot, knowing it was a knot, but not knowing how to untie it. I had no map for this life.

A breath of steam trickles out, filled with the sobs of a grown woman breaking into girl-sized pieces.

This is wonderful, wonderful! Be the bird. You are the bird. Sacrifice yourself to abandoned family values.

Grandma frowned and yelled something in Russian. She could have been saying, 'Open up, your best friend is here.' On the other hand, it could have been, 'America is a great country because of canned ravioli.

When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time.

My face becomes a Picasso sketch, my body slicing into pieces.

I watch the Eruptions. Mount Dad, long dormant, now considered armed and dangerous. Mount Saint Mom, oozing lava, spitting flame. Warn the villagers to run into the sea.