Safe from the Neighbors is a novel of unusual richness and depth, one that's as wise about the small shocks within a marriage as it is about the troubled history of Mississippi. Steve Yarbrough is a formidably talented novelist, shuttling between the past and present with a grace that feels effortless.

I no longer believe that just about everything is funny, if viewed from the proper angle.

I write about kids growing up, I write a lot about schools and parents, and all of my experiences with those things have been suburban experiences.

It just took some people a little longer than others to realize how few words they needed to get by, how much of life they could negotiate in silence.

I know very few writers who outline fully before they start. It just doesn't seem possible to do, because so many things don't come out until you're absolutely knee-deep in the world.

It just so happened that for most of my life I've lived in the suburbs.

Every minute we were together, I felt like I was wandering in the dark through a strange house, groping for a light switch. And then, whenever I found one and turned it on, the bulb was dead.