For more and more of us, home has less to do with a piece of soil than a piece of soul.

But it’s only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole, and understand what you should be doing with it.

American dreams are strongest in the hearts of those who have seen America only in their dreams.

Literally, when you wake up at 9 o'clock in the morning in Havana you don't know where you'll be at noon. But it's a safe guess that you'll either be married, arrested, or in the midst of some incredible transaction where somebody is stealing your passport or paying you in Dominican pesos for it, or whatever. It's a wild place.

Our own country seemed more polarized than it's ever been and since the two terrorist attacks of 9/11, religion was in greater disrepute than at any other time in my lifetime.

A holy day, after all, is a day for considering everything you otherwise think too little about.

Writing of every kind is a way to wake oneself up and keep as alive as when one has just fallen in love.