“Read. As much as you can. As deeply and widely and nourishingly and ­irritatingly as you can. And the good things will make you remember them, so you won’t need to take notes.”

Nothing makes you feel more stupid than finding out you were wrong when you thought you were loved.

Surgery is just stabbing in a courteous environment

Remember you love writing. It wouldn’t be worth it if you didn’t. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back.

Have more humility. Remember you don’t know the limits of your own abilities. Successful or not, if you keep pushing beyond yourself, you will enrich your own life – and maybe even please a few strangers.

We are not all connected. We are bags of skin. We are all separate bags of thinking skin.

Write. No amount of self-inflicted misery, altered states, black pullovers or being publicly obnoxious will ever add up to your being a writer. Writers write. On you go.

I certainly wasn’t happy. Happiness has to do with reason, and only reason earns it. What I was given was the thing you can’t earn, and can’t keep, and often don’t even recognize at the time; I mean joy.

There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.

One more thing. I sold the mustang. Too conspicuous. Don’t get too excited, but i bought you a little something with the extra cash. I heard you’ve had your eye on a volkswagen. The owner is dropping it by tomorrow. I paid for a full tank of gas, so make sure she delivers.

Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.

Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.

To me, the most shocking thing about grit is how little we know, how little science knows, about building it.

And that the pastor’s sermons, however dull they might seem at the time of taking, yet had a voodooistic power which ‘did a fellow good– kept him in touch with Higher Things.

You possess other people’s…Bodies.” he accepted that statement with a nod. “do you want to possess my body?” “i want to do a lot of things to your body, but that’s not one of them.