I think we cry to release the animal parts of us without losing our humanity. Becauseinside me is a beast that snarls, and growls, and strains toward freedom, toward Tobias, and, aboveall, toward life. And...

He must have stood there for a long time, making a list of all the terrible things he had done—almost killinng me was one of those thingss—and another list of all the good, heroic, brave...

What is wrong with you?’ I shake my head. ‘Pull it together.’ And that’s what it feels like: pulling the different parts of me up and in like a shoelace. I feel suffocated, but at...

I have to use the word ‘insurgent’ because I can’t think of a better word right now.

But then he stops at the door frame and says, It’s 9:24. Telling me the time is a small act of betrayal-and therefore an ordinary act of bravery. It is maybe the first time I’ve...

The simple and terrifying reality, forbidden from discussion in America, was that despite spending $600 billion a year on the military, despite having the best fighting force the world had ever known, they were getting...

I also don’t believe that whatever come after life depends on my correctly reciting a list of my transgressions-that sounds too much like an Erudite afterlife to me, all accuracy and no feeling.

I’ll be your family now,” he says. “I love you,” I say. (….)He stares at me. I wait with my hands clutching his arms for stability as he considers his response. He frowns at me....

And what this is, I realize, is life. I don’t want it. I want my parents and I have for weeks. I’ve been trying to claw my way back to them, and now I am...

I asked you not to do this. You made your decision. These are the repercussions.

Crying defies scientific explanation. Tears are only meant to lubricate the eyes. There is no real reason for tear glands to overproduce tears at the behest of emotion.

Maybe time would not feel as heavy if I didn’t have this guilt – the guilt of knowing the truth and stuffing it down where no one can see it.

Who cares about everyone? What about me?

You don’t have to tell me everything right away, but I have to tell you everything right away? Can’t you see how stupid that is?