I couldnt be a writer without hope. I think I became a writer because Im pretty optimistic.

There is something so deeply visceral about libraries for me-rooms and rooms full of people dreaming and remembering.

Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.

But on paper, things can live forever. On paper, a butterfly never dies.

People are going to judge you all the time no matter what you do...Don't worry about other people. Worry about you.

I do believe that books can change lives and give people this kind of language they wouldn't have had otherwise.

I believe in one day and someday and this perfect moment called Now.

Even the silence has a story to tell you. Just listen. Listen.

The empty swing set reminds us of this-- that bad won't be bad forever, and what is good can sometimes last a long, long time.

I feel like the world stopped. And I got off...and then it started spinning again, but too fast for me to hop back on. I feel like I'm still trying to get a...to get some kind of foothold on living

In all your getting, get understanding.

The best teachers are the ones who give you a hard time, they may not intend it, but you can intend to learn!!!

Choose to be a love-finder rather than a faultfinder.

Melting our attachment to self is the most powerful medication for bringing mental and emotional imbalances in check.

I never would have agreed to the formulation of the Central Intelligence Agency back in forty-seven, if I had known it would become the American Gestapo.

Only now that I loved a grenade did I understand the foolishness of trying to save others from my own impending fragmentation: I couldn’t unlove Augustus Waters. And I didn’t want to.

Over the years, I've collected a lot of musical friends.

There are many differences between a baby and an I-Pod. And one of the biggest is, no ones going to mug you for your baby.

I have a lot of supporters.

It has always been Oscar Peterson. He is my Rachmaninoff.

I'm the sexiest when I'm happy because it brings out a lot of confidence.