The greatest calling of all is to have a literary life.

i would rather be married to broken jade than flawless clay

Parents die, daughters grow up and marry out, but sisters are for life.

We hug, but there are no tears. For every awful thing that's been said and done, she is my sister. Parents die, daughters grow up and marry out, but sisters are for life. She is the only person left in the world who shares my memories of our childhood, our parents, our Shanghai, our struggles, our sorrows, and, yes, even our moments of happiness and triumph. My sister is the one person who truly knows me, as I know her. The last thing May says to me is 'When our hair is white, we'll still have our sister love.

I know a lot about women and their suffering, but I still know almost nothing about men.

What stays with me most is a general sense of loss, unease, and longing for the past that cannot be relieved.

He was in my hair, my eyes, my fingers, my heart. I day-dreamed about what he was doing, thinking, seeing, smelling, feeling. I could not eat for thoughts of him.