Once you've been talked to by voices, it's not possible to go back to a world where talking voices is not possible.

The most radical, audacious thing to think is that there might be some point to working hard and thinking hard and reading hard and writing hard and trying to be of service

And if you're lucky enough to survive going crazy and get back to the point where you can pass for normal, it builds a question into the rest of your life. You have to forgive people for wondering, 'How all right can he be?'

Colds, ulcers, flu, and cancer are things we get. Schizophrenia is something we are.

My only hope was to be polite.

Most adults have forgotten what they had to do to survive childhood.

Well, I thought, last night I paid my dues. I faced death. Now I can stay.