I cannot just write a frivolous book, a la-di-da book. Everything isn't la-di-da. There is something that's going to pull you up short. I want to reassure young readers. I want to comfort them, to not fear the unexpected.

On that night after Phoebe had given her Pandora report, I thought about the Hope in Pandora's box. Maybe when everything seemed sad and miserable, Phoebe and I could both hope that something might start to go right.

Read a lot, live your life, and listen and watch, so that your mind fills up with millions of images.

You can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.

Don't judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.

Man needs bread and hyacinths: one to feed the body, and one to feed the soul.

I prayed to trees. This was easier than praying directly to God. There was nearly always a tree nearby.