nothing is guaranteed.... So don't be afraid. Be alive.

I wanted to be somewhere else ... Someplace where the sight of me sobbing would tie me to no one and no one to me.

I never really know what I'm going to write next until it comes to me. So we'll just have to see what happens.

It was becoming clear to me that I shouldn't bother to get too attached to anything. Turn your back and you lose it. Just like that.

Now, now," my father said. "Let's just get the bags." This was typical. My father, the lone male in our estrogen-heavy household, had always dealt with any kind of emotional situation or conflict by doing something concrete and specific. Discussion of cramps and heavy flow at the breakfast table? He was up and out the door to change oil on one of our cars. Coming home in tears for reasons you just didn't want to discuss? He'd go make you a grilled cheese, which he'd probably end up eating. Family crisis brewing in a public place? Bags. Get the bags.

Sometimes really, really bad things happen to people, and there is no explanation and no reason whatsoever.

There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.