The Way To Write A Book Is

We Do Not Always Like The People We Love- We Do Not Always Have That Choice.

I Do Wish I Could Write Like Some Of The American Women, Who Can Be Clever And Heartfelt And Hopeful; People Like Lorrie Moore And Jennifer Egan. But Ireland Messed Me Up Too Much, I Think, So I Can't.

If You Try To Control It Too Much, The Book Is Dead. You Have To Let It Fall Apart Quite Early On And Let It Start Doing Its Own Thing. And That Takes Nerve, Not To Panic That The Book You Were Going To Write Is Not The Book You Will Have At The End Of The Day.

We Have Lost The Art Of Public Tenderness, These Small Gestures Of Wiping And Washing; We Have Forgotten How Abjectly The Body Welcomes A Formal Touch.

There Is Nothing As Tentative As An Old Woman's Touch; As Loving Or As Horrible.