It's not good to live so much inside oneself. It's a self-imposed exile, really. It makes you different.

It's not good to live so much inside oneself. It's a self-imposed exile, really. It makes you different.

What did a person need to survive? Food. Water. Shelter. Warmth in cold weather. And something else... books.

I always use primary sources, in addition to reading biographies and other materials.

It has always been on the written page that the world has come into focus for me. If I can piece all these bits of memory together with the diaries and letters and the scribbled thoughts that clutter my mind and bookshelves, then maybe I can explain what happened. Maybe the worlds I have inhabited for the past seven years will assume order and logic and wholeness on paper. Maybe I can tell my story in a way that is useful to someone else.

In the end, what really matters? Only kindness. Only making somebody a little happier for your presence.

It has always been on the written page that the world has come into focus for me.