"What does it mean to be Catholic and not a Catholic? I feel adrift, homeless. My Catholic imagination allows me to see the soul as a lit breath, seeking the divine. It persists."

"Writing is my obsession, my passion. My relationship with it is one of the most complex and agonizing and richly vexing that I have in my life."

"If I'd learned nothing else, it was this: If you want to be a great writer, be a man. If you can't be a man, write like one."

"Writers are socially observant. We find people endlessly fascinating, and real life is mysterious. Sometimes it's hard to stop staring at the strut and squawk of my fellow man. They can be quite inspiring. Sometimes it's hard to stop talking to them to see what in the world they're thinking."

"I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled, and thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them."

"Wisdom principle 52 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 78."

"I'm famous for being nicer to my fans than anyone on the face of the earth because I figure, a) They pay my salary, and b) It's probably like a big moment in your life to meet somebody so I would say, 'Just come on up.'"

"It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I was uncommonly beautiful and that I was the most precious thing in his life."