I will turn human anatomy into roses and stars and sea. I will dissect the beloveds body in metaphor.

Widowers marry again because it makes their lives easier. Widows often don't, because it makes their lives harder. [p. 61]

Like countless first-year medical students, immersed in the symptoms of one disease after another, I am alert to the tingles and pangs, the throbs and quivers of my mortal body, each one of which is potentially a sign of the end.

Dreams are stories made by and for the dreamer, and each dreamer has his own folds to open and knots to untie.

Many writers over the centuries simply do not have the reputations they deserve because they were female, and that is an act of suppression.

Being a mother is complicated because its not just a paternal culture making demands on you; its those internal demands and expectations that women have and are self-generated.

Crippled and crazy, we hobble toward the finish line, pen in hand.