Kimberly McCreight

Simple" Kate had wanted to say, "I'm already dead.

Certainly she could never have exchanged pleasantries with anyone. What would there be for them to say anyway? Sorry? Sorry your daughter is dead, Sorry your daughter jumped off the roof of her school when you were on your way to pick her up. Sorry you were late. Too bad you'll be reliving that failure for the rest of your miserable life.

Clothes were to Sylvia what books were to me: the only thing that really mattered.

So much of what people believe makes no sense, Wylie.

Sometimes its hard to tell how fast the current's moving until you're headed over a waterfall

...[E]ven I know that being a parent is awful ninety-five percent of the time...As far as I can tell, it's that last five percent that keeps the human race from dying out. Four parts blinding terror, one part perfection. It's like mainlining heroin. One taste of life on that edge and you're hooked.

feelings existed in only one form: magnified.