“...you want things to remain the same, which they never can, and so you’re wounded by your own feelings & resentful others don’t seem to care...”

“Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you’re on your own. ­Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine.”

“Two people can care for each other but not want the same things.”

“The only real danger is flinching, seeming to notice your own nakedness. If you don’t flinch, you’re merely nude, which is a classically recognized form of beauty.”

“Of course, it’s true that sometimes the pink at sunrise somehow seems brighter than the pink at sunset, and that when you’re feeling down the the landscape seems darker too - you see things through the filter of your own sensibility. But the things themselves, out there, they don’t change. They existed, and that’s all there is to it.”

“Mastering the art of aloneness doesn't mean living in isolation or never needing the love, support, and involvement of others. It means creating and living a life in which you feel whole and content as an individual on your own; a life in which you can take care of yourself emotionally and financially.”