We humans are different - our brains are built not to fix memories in stone but rather to transform them, our recollections in their retelling.

Some of my old memories feel trapped in amber in my brain, lucid and burning, while others are like the wing beat of a hummingbird, an intangible, ephemeral blur.

We children of schizophrenics are the great secret keepers, the ones who don't want you to think that anything is wrong.

I felt held hostage by her illness and by the backward mental health system that once again was incapable of helping our family in crisis.

I don't want to be the person who gasps in fear whenever she hears the sound of a doorbell or a phone. I just want to lose myself in these hills, in the river winding west to the city of bridges.

We humans are different--our brains are built not to fix memories in stone but rather to transform them. Our recollections change in their retelling.

Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel says we are who we are because of what we learn and what we remember. Who am I, then, if my memory is impaired?

Grasp the opportunity to make each day exceptional.

Oh, that I could spend every moment of my life to God's glory!

The Southerner is usually tolerant of those weaknesses that proceed from innocence.

Unless something happens that we can't predict, I don't think a lot will happen

My will for you is not harsh or unpleasant. It is gentle and perfectly tailored to your unique needs. Do not fear my direction. I am your heart's happiest guide.

The reason adults should look as though they are having fun, is to give kids a reason to want to grow up.

French was the only language we had in common, and even that was like a dialect we had picked up at a rummage sale, rusty and missing a lot of essential parts.

I wanted an idea of the future, a new femininity. I wanted you to feel that you wouldn't quite know where these women were coming from and where they were going to.

Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone

I'm glad I haven't lived in vain.