When my mother died, my father's early widowhood gave him social cachet he would not have had if they had divorced. He was a bigger catch for the sorrow attached.

Just because you have stopped sinking doesn't mean you're not still underwater.

We can only die in the future, I thought; right now we are always alive.

Sometimes a flat-footed sentence is what serves, so you don't get all writerly: 'He opened the door.' There, it's open.

They say the smart dog obeys but the smarter dog knows when to disobey.

Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed.

Wear your heart on the page, and people will read to find out how you solved being alive.

In my head there's a broken balcony I fall off of when I speak.

if it's true your life flashes past your eyes before you die, then it is also the truth that your life rushes forth when you are ready to start to truly be alive.

I sleep with a glass of water on the nightstand so I can see by its level if the coastal earth is trembling or if the shaking is still me.

I want to know everything about you, so I tell you everything about myself.

Le monde est la résultante de nos actes individuels.

I Don't Waste My Time Doing Crosswords, As My Life Is The Only Puzzle I Care To Resolve!

I'm not confident with the ladies. I can't just ask someone out in a club. I'd like to say I'm a gentleman.

Shepherd. It's a very beautiful word. It represents peace. And it meant a lot to me because...I come from a life with shepherds and mountains and all that stuff.

When one reads hurriedly and nervously, having in mind written tests and examinations, one's brain becomes encumbered with a lot of bric-a-brac for which there seems to be little use.

If you're from South London you feel like you're always trying to win people over, so perhaps that underdog passion comes through.

The ways of the British are inscrutable but they always seem to obtain their own ends without compromising their dignity or their honor.

Unless we as social change agents come from a certain spirituality, we're likely to create more harm than good.

Having your husband at a party is like adding anchovies to a salad. I love anchovies, but you can't taste anything else.

They all agree, they are all unanimous in Congress, in the States, on the rostrum, in the sanctuary - everywhere they declare that slavery shall not go into the Territories.