Augusten Burroughs

The line between normal and crazy seemed impossibly thin. A person would have to be an expert tightrope walker in order not to fall.

I love you," she said, and I knew she meant it because she spoke the words from the heart at the center of her chest. This, at least, had not been left behind at the hospital.

I used to feel so alone in the city. All those gazillions of people and then me, on the outside. Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stunned by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say, "Hi." They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word.

Like every child, I adored her. Until I formed a brain and got to know her.