The mystery story is two stories in one: the story of what happened and the story of what appeared to happen.
Engaging and well paced, the book fills in the reality behind Vonnegut's work
She just wanted to be comfortable in her own skin. . . But she would not stop to seek others' approval. The notion that she should never seemed to enter her head. Her right to live as she pleased was not up for negotiation, even if it ran against the grain of the milieu at Huntingdon.
Self-pity is a sin. It is a form of living suicide.
The great purpose in life is to take your destiny out of the hands of others.
There is more to be pondered in the grain and texture of life than traditional fiction allows. The work of essayists is vital precisely because it permits and encourages self-knowledge in a way that is less indirect than fiction, more open and speculative.
I had to tell Dad, 'It will be okay and be positive; keep praying and have faith'. I have always known about cancer, but to be around someone who has it and to see what it does in such a short space of time was hard. It makes you think about your life, about what is important.
It's important that if one opposes discriminatory speech, one opposes all kinds. That is that one decides on a principle that it will include all minorities. But if the protection of one minority against another minority is what is happening, then I worry about that.
I do write a lot from personal experience, but I also embellish a bit.
Paradox - Truth standing on her head to get attention.