“Just because it's a novel--can't it also be different?”

“I know some words floated through my ears, but my mind refused to absorb their meaning. I just shook my head slowly as the wall of pain washed over me, leaving me submerged and broken in the flood.”

“My whole world started to tilt. I could feel it, sliding ever so slightly off center.”

“You can't just make me different, and then leave. Because I was fine before, Alaska. I was just fine with me and last words and school friends, and you can't just make me different and then die.”

“You can't just make me different, and the leave. Because I was fine before.”

“You can't just make yourself matter and then die, Alaska, because now I am irretrievably different..”

“Columnists write not just because they have something to say but also because they have to say something.”