Somewhere along the line I'd lost the will not to eat.

It was not a big smile, not particularly bold or polite or ironic or glib, not asking for anything or offering anything, not stringy or careless, not, in short, like any smile I had ever experienced before. But such a smile! You could burn a hole in the world with that smile.

I noticed that once you realize someone's watching you it's pretty hard not to find yourself watching them back.

Things Happen and once they start happening you pretty much just to hold on for dear life and see where they drop you when they stop.

Somewhere along the line I'd lost the will not to eat.

This was what happiness felt like - this wondrous, miraculous alternative to dread.

While working in advertising, I channelled my creative energy into elaborate escape fantasies: cake making, dog breeding, the Peace Corps.