“The fictive is an emormous territory it turns out, its boundaries vague, and there is little certainty about where it begins and ends.”

“That is the strangeness of language: it crosses the boundaries of the body, is at once inside and outside, and it sometimes happens that we don't notice the threshold has been crossed.”

“I will turn human anatomy into roses and stars and sea. I will dissect the beloveds body in metaphor.”

“My father once asked me if I knew where yonder was. I said I thought yonder was another word for there. He smiled and said, "No, yonder is between here and there.”

“Every sickness has an alien quality, a feeling of invasion and loss of control that is evident in the language we use about it.”

“Worries about the power of a doctor's suggestions to influence and shape his patient's mind, whether they are made under hypnosis or not, are still with us.”

“Infancy is irretrievable. Its memories live underground. To what extent they return by stealth or are triggered by various catalysts remains an ongoing question.”