This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage

This is how we change the world: we grab hold of it. We change ourselves

then you might be politely tolerated but you would never truly be accepted.

As time goes on, the Met has dug down deep to keep the intermission features interesting.

we clap for both arias and curtain calls. We call out Brava! and Bravo! The rational mind understands the singers can’t hear us, and yet we are living so completely in our high-definition moment it is easy to forget.

but even in those early days country music and I were a poor fit.

All I had ever wanted was a dog who would sleep in my lap while I read and lick my neck and bring me the ball to throw eighty-seven times in a row. I thought a dog would be the key to perfect happiness. And I was right. We are perfectly happy.

as far as I can tell, they know absolutely nothing of unconditional love.

. But when fate knocks on the door, you’d better answer.

; I wasn’t planning any further than five minutes ahead.

while. I wanted her to make her decision and stick to it

after I left my husband, I propped myself up on my mother’s sofa and watched

made a vow on the spot that for the month of January, I would dedicate a minimum of one hour a day to my chosen profession.

Habits stick, both the good ones and the bad.

As much as I love what I do, I forever feel like a dog on the wrong side of the door.

No matter how far I venture outside my own experience, I also know that I am who I am, and that my work will always reflect my character regardless of whether I want it to.

much as I love doing research, I also know that it provides a spectacular means of procrastination.

Magazines really do have personalities, and you should be able to figure out if your story might fit in.

Therefore, I suggest focusing your energy on the part of the equation you control—the quality of your work.

read Raymond Chandler. The Long Goodbye is my favorite.)

was the spiritual equivalent of Charlie Bucket finding the golden ticket in his Wonka bar.