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We can't understand when we're pregnant, or when our siblings are expecting, how profound it is to have a shared history with a younger generation: bl...more

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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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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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If we stay where we are, where we're stuck, where we're comfortable and safe, we die there. We become like mushrooms, living in the dark, with poop up...more

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Human lives are hard, even those of health and privilege, and don't make much sense. This is the message of the Book of Job: Any snappy explanation of...more

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I don't remember who said this, but there really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child.

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I have these secret pangs of shame about being single, like I wasn't good enough to get a husband. Rita reminded me of something I'd told her once, ab...more

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One secret of life is that the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. Another secret is that laughter is...more

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I kept my expectations low, which is one of the secrets of life.

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When we did art with the kids, the demons would lie down.

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I am positive of only a few things in life, and one is that if you want to have a decent middle and old age, you have to get exercise almost every day...more