“That is the mystery about writing: it comes out of afflictions, out of the gouged times, when the heart is cut open.”

“Life, after all, was a secret with the self. The more one gave out, the less there remained for the center--that center which she coveted for herself and recognized instantly in others. Fruits had it, the very heart of, say, a cherry, where the true worth and flavor lay. Some of course were flawed or hollow in there. Many, in fact. ”

“When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious.”

“After that dark woman you search for someone who will fit into the irregular corners of your heart.”

“It was the first time that I came face to face with madness and feared it and was fascinated by it.”

“In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.”

“I crossed the room, and what you did was to feel my hair over and over again and in different ways, touch it, with the palm of your hand... felt it, strands of hair, with your fingers, touched it as if it were cloth, the way a child touches its favorite surfaces.”