I can't go back. The past won't go away in this family.

Sit and quiet yourself. Luxuriate in a certain memory and the details will come. Let the images flow. You'll be amazed at what will come out on paper. I'm still learning what it is about the past that I want to write. I don't worry about it. It will emerge. It will insist on being told.

Kids all want to look cool, as if knowledge is a great burden, but they're always looking around. They remember.

That's what kept us going - a sense of absurdity, rather than humor.

A mother's love is a blessing No matter where you roam. Keep her while you have her, You'll miss her when she's gone -- Angela's Ashes.

You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.