If you live in the dark a long time and the sun comes out, you do not cross into it whistling. There's an initial uprush of relief at first, then-for me, anyway- a profound dislocation. My old assumptions about how the world works are buried, yet my new ones aren't yet operational.There's been a death of sorts, but without a few days in hell, no resurrection is possible.

As a memoirist, I strive for veracity.

For me, everything's too much and nothing's enough.

I get so lonely sometimes, I could put a box on my head and mail myself to a stranger.

I've never contended that I had a really horrible life.

If dysfunction means that a family doesn't work, then every family ambles into some arena in which that happens, where relationships get strained or even break down entirely. We fail each other or disappoint each other. That goes for parents, siblings, kids, marriage partners - the whole enchilada.

How much smaller the large places are once we're grown up, when we have car keys and credit cards.