I don't think there's such a thing as autobiographical fiction. If I say it happened, it happened, even if only in my mind.

There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.

Cooking certain dishes, like roast pork, reminds me of my mother.

It is a no-fail, incontrovertible reality: If you get, give. If you learn, teach. You can't do anything with that except do it.

To be left alone on the tightrope of youthful unknowing is to experience the excruciating beauty of full freedom and the threat of eternal indecision.

If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased.

My entire stay there [high school] might have been time lost if it hadn't been for the unique personality of a brilliant teacher. Miss Kirwin was that rare educator who was in love with information. I will always believe that her love of teaching came not so much from her liking for students but from her desire to make sure that some of the things she knew would find repositories so that they could be shared again.