Those who do not have power over the story that dominates their lives, power to retell it, to rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless, because they cannot think new thoughts.

When you write you in a way write out of what you think of as your best self, the part of you that is lacking in foibles and weaknesses and egotism and vanities and so on. You're just trying to really say something as truthful as you can out of the best that you have in you.

After a long, hopeless war, people will settle for peace, at almost any price.

Unfortunately, the problem of the free speech argument is that you have to defend people you can't stand.

With death comes honesty.

Perhaps because my relationship with my father went through such a long, bumpy time, it's been very important for me to work to try to keep lines of communication open between my sons and myself to try to avoid my father's mistakes. At least if you're making mistakes, make different mistakes.

When you start writing about the stuff that is the central experience of your own life, you can talk about whatever you want, in whatever way you want.