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Everyone is flailing through this life without an owner's manual, with whatever modicum of grace and good humor we can manage.

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We must not inflict life on children who will be resented we must not inflict unwanted children on society.

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Oh my God, what if you wake up some day, and you're 65, or 75, and you never got your memoir or novel written, or you didn't go swimming in those warm...more

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My parents, and librarians along the way, taught me about the space between words; about the margins, where so many juicy moments of life and spirit a...more

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How alive am I willing to be?

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Two things put me in the spirit to give. One is that I have come to think of everyone with whom I come into contast as a patient in the emergency room...more

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Here are the two best prayers I know: 'Help me, help me, help me' and 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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You have to make mistakes to find out who you aren't. You take the action, and the insight follows: You don't think your way into becoming yourself.

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There was going to be a spot for me in this joint, the earth, after all. It was never going to be a great match for someone as bright and strange as m...more

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Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good a...more

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Nothing can be delicious when you are holding your breath.

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Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle...more

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E.L. Doctorow said once said that 'Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the wh...more

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But you don't always get what you want;,you get what you get

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My belief is that when you're telling the truth, you're close to God. If you say to God, "I am exhausted and depressed beyond words, and I don't like ...more