I Write About Kids Growing Up, I

It Just Took Some People A Little Longer Than Others To Realize How Few Words They Needed To Get By, How Much Of Life They Could Negotiate In Silence.

There's Not Some Finite Amount Of Pain Inside Us. Our Bodies And Minds Just Keep Manufacturing More Of It.

I No Longer Believe That Just About Everything Is Funny, If Viewed From The Proper Angle.

He'd Never Had To Make The Adjustments And Compromises Other People Accepted Early In Their Romantic Careers; Never Had A Chance To Learn The Lesson That Sarah Taught Him Everyday--that Beauty Was Only A Part Of It, And Not Even The Most Important Part, That There Were Transactions Between People That Occurred On Some Mysterious Level Beneath The Skin, Or Maybe Even Beyond The Body.

Safe From The Neighbors Is A Novel Of Unusual Richness And Depth, One That's As Wise About The Small Shocks Within A Marriage As It Is About The Troubled History Of Mississippi. Steve Yarbrough Is A Formidably Talented Novelist, Shuttling Between The Past And Present With A Grace That Feels Effortless.