“My worst is all out in the open. It makes it necessary for people to tell you about themselves. ”

“It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”

“There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.”

“I never can stand seeing people pleased with themselves,” said Joanna. “It arouses all my worst instincts.”

“You only ask people about themselves so you can tell them about yourself.”

“Through [my friends] I discovered what it was to love people. There was an art to it...which was not really all that different from the love that is necessary in the making of art. It required the effort of always seeing them for themselves and not as I wished them to be...”