“The story of his great-grandfather . . . was his own story, too.”

“I didn't find my story; it found me, as autobiography always does: finds you out in your deepest most private places.”

“Poetry is a way of coming to know the realness of things; fiction is a way of coming to know the world of relationships; nonfiction is a way of coming to know the world of the mind.”

“There is a wicked and pervading arrogance loose on the earth, like a rabid beast, an overdog. Does it run, does it slouch, does its name have a number? The beast preaches contempt, for that's what arrogance says: that nothing is real but itself, and the bone and blood of another's being are insubstantial as breath.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” she told him breathlessly. His chuckle sounded strangled. “Pretend I am for a while.”

“There's no such thing as complete when it comes to stories. Stories are infinite. They are as infinite as worlds.”

“Got some more customers for ya," said Camden, taking off his baseball cap to bend the brim, and then putting it back on again."Wait, she deals drugs too?" asked Brad. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. Apparently, neither could the student teacher passing by us in the hallway; she whipped her head around to stare suspiciously for a moment before either deciding that we were harmless or deciding to stroll on over to Principal Davis's office in an exceedingly casual manner.”