“Life is not a submarine.”

“There are a lot of us, some published, some not, who think the literary life is the loveliest one possible, this life of reading and writing and corresponding. We think this life is nearly ideal.”

“It was not facing what life dealt that made you crazy, but rather trying to set life straight where it was unstraightenable.”

“One secret of life is that the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. Another secret is that laughter is carbonated holiness”

“Life is change and what we need is muscle, flexibility, and awareness.”

“It's good to do uncomfortable things. It's weight training for life.”

“Usually with life, you start wherever you are, and you flail around for a while--”