The memory is like orbiting twin stars, one visible, one dark, the trajectory of what's evident forever affected by the gravity of what's concealed.

That's the way the system works. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.

I started writing seriously when I was 18, wrote my first novel when I was 22, and I've never stopped writing since.

People who've had happy childhoods are wonderful, but they're bland... An unhappy childhood compels you to use your imagination to create a world in which you can be happy. Use your old grief. That's the gift you're given.

A woman should never, never, never be financially dependent to anyone, especially a man, because the minute you were dependent, you could be abused.

Perhaps when we're forced to forfeit what we own, we lose any sentimental associations. Perhaps pawning our valuables frees us in the same way a house fire destroys not only our worldly goods, but our attachment to what's gone.

There are days when none of us can bear it, but the good comes around again. Happiness is seasonal, like anything else. Wait it out. There are people who love you. People who can help.