I Guess Love Is The Real Suspension

Before College, I Hadn't Voluntarily Read Anything That Might Be Called Literature; I Didn't Think I'd Understand It; I Never Seemed To Understand My English Teacher's Interpretations Of What We Read.

During Chemo, You're More Tired Than You've Ever Been. It's Like A Cloud Passing Over The Sun, And Suddenly You're Out. But You Also Find That You're Stronger Than You've Ever Been. You're Clear. Your Mortality Is At Optimal Distance, Not Up So Close That It Obscures Everything Else, But Close Enough To Give You Depth Perception. Previously, It Has Taken You Weeks, Months, Or Years To Discover The Meaning Of An Experience. Now It's Instantaneous.

With So Much Sky And So Much River, You Couldn't Help Seeing The Big Picture. It Was What You Already Knew, But Crowding Into The Subway Or Rushing To A Movie, You Only Saw It For A Second, And Close Up. Now I Took A Good Long Look. I'd Always Heard You Couldn't See Stars In Manhattan Because Of All The Lights. But Here They All Were. Here Was My Night In Shining Armor.

I Don't Have Any Real Goals Except To Follow One Good Sentence With Another... I'm Not The Kind Of Writer Who Has A Map.

You Will Say Good-bye For All The Right Reasons. You're Tired Of Living In Wait For His Apocalypse. You Have Your Own Fight On Your Hands, And Though It's No Bigger Or More Noble Than His, It Will Require All Of Your Energy. It's You Who Has To Hold On To Earth. You Have To Tighten Your Grip -- Which Means Letting Go Of Him.