“If I seem to wander, if I seem to stray, remember that true stories seldom take the straightest way”

“Strange as it may seem, my life is based on a true story”

“I only know one story. But oftentimes small pieces seem to be stories themselves.”

“The straightest way to the heart of old matters is an old letter.”

“To string incongruities and absurdities together in a wandering and sometimes purposeless way, and seem innocently unaware that they are absurdities, is the basis of the American art, if my position is correct.”

“Whenever you make a figure of a man or of some graceful animal remember to avoid making it seem wooden; that is it should move with counterpoise and balance in such a way as not to seem a block of wood.”

“Suddenly, details seemed extremely important. Details were something to grab on to, a way to insert myself into the story.”

“Halfway down the aisle, Jamie suddenly seemed to tire, and they stopped while she caught her breath… It was, I remembered thinking, the most difficult walk anyone ever had to make. In every way, a walk to remember.”

“If I could have anything I wanted, I would choose story without end, and it seems I have lots of company in that.”

“Nothing in this world is difficult, but thinking makes it seem so. Where there is true will, there is always a way.”