Indeed, at times it's best to shut up.

I am apt to be harsh in my secret judgments of others, seeing them as defective because they are not enough like me.

Most good essays are conversations with yourself - not just your decided thoughts but your dilemmas.

Have fun writing, because it enhances both the writer's and reader's experience.

It bothers me when I can't, for example, remember a name. I don't know if it's pre-senility or whether there are too many names packed in our brains.

My other work, teaching, also is satisfying because I can be with people but in controlled circumstances, which aren't as likely to yield the pain of dealing with family.

If someone in my family is getting emotionally bent out of shape, I've had to learn to adapt.