“Books have a unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying: Let’s not forget this.”

“I had forgotten that, and so many things. How could I put everything down on paper? It seemed impossible. No matter what, the majority of life would be left out of this story, this sliver of a version of the life I'd known. But I tried anyway.”

“If you don't want anyone to know about your existence, you might as well kill yourself. You're taking up space, air.”

“But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them.”