It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all. When you're telling it, to yourself or to someone else.
Margaret AtwoodWhen a man is attacked in print, it's usually for saying what he says; when a woman is attacked in print, it's often for being who she is.
Margaret AtwoodFarewells can be shattering, but returns are surely worse. Solid flesh can never live up to the bright shadow cast by its absence. Time and distance blur the edges; then suddenly the beloved has arrived, and it's noon with its merciless light, and every spot and pore and wrinkle and bristle stands clear.
Margaret Atwood