death is not a pretty flower that had almost pricked me. It was not a small annoyance I could simply bypass and quickly disregard. It was really The End.

The trees were friendly, they gave me rest and shadowed refuge. Slipping through them, I felt safe and competent. My whole body was occupied. I had little energy to think or worry.

Beneath hot sun, desert roses bloomed. Under cold moon, I still refused to.

Water was liquid silver, water was gold. It was clarity—a sacred thing. Drinking was no longer something to take for granted. I’d never needed to consider water before.

There was so little I wanted to carry. Packing my backpack took me all of four minutes

The bravest thing I ever did was leave there. The next bravest thing I did was come back, to make myself heard.

I’d believed I needed to be steady in myself before I could function with others—but surviving alone no longer felt like a good way either.

I realized that the most empowering important thing was actually simply taking care of myself.

I was promising myself strength.I had to write it, say it, make the effort and fake it before I actually believed I could do it.

I was the director of my life, it was already true, and I would soon lead myself to my dreamed-of destinations.It was the task of my one thousand miles of solitude.

I no longer needed to peel myself of my skin, or to hide. To Dash the colorless ephemeral things that existed just beneath my surface were as vivid as the beauty marks he traced on my cheek.

Exercising the Body is great, But exercising the Mind is the GREATEST.

When we mother well, we teach our children to embrace the moral obligations that build solid relationships, healthy marriages, and secure families.

Maybe it's okay to still be a kid every once in a while.

Our danger is not too few but too many options ... to be puzzled by innumerable alternatives.

A friend of mine said, no matter what I do I always look like an English teacher. She actually said, you still look like a Campbell's Soup kid.

A lot of directors prefer the solitude of the editing process, but I revel in the craziness of what a film set is.

Hear how the birds, on ev'ry blooming spray, With joyous musick wake the dawning day.

Our neighbors shake their heads And take their valuables inside While my countrymen piss in the fountains To express their national pride.

If you're not getting better in the summer, you're wasting your time.

I am often asked how I got into the business. I didn't. The business got into me.