He Had Been My Almost.

When I Was Raped I Lost My Virginity And Almost Lost My Life. I Also Discarded Certain Assumptions I Had Held About How The World Worked And About How Safe I Was.

I Don't Do Much Public Speaking. I Did A Lot Of Stuff For Bones, And Then Ended Up Having Said Yes To A Lot Of Things That Kept Me On The Road For A While For That, But Then I Pretty Much Stopped. I'm Touring For This Book, But When The Tour Is Done, That'll Be The End Of It.

Now I Am In The Place I Call This Wide Wide Heaven Because It Includes All My Simplest Desires But Also The Most Humble And Grand. The Word My Grandfather Uses Is Comfort. So There Are Cakes And Pillows And Colors Galore, But Underneath This More Obvious Patchwork Quilt Are Places Like A Quiet Room Where You Can Go And Hold Someone's Hand And Not Have To Say Anything. Give No Story. Make No Claim. Where You Can Live At The Edge Of Your Skin For As Long As You Wish.

She Sat In Her Room On The Couch My Parents Had Given Up On And Worked On Hardening Herself. Take Deep Breaths And Hold Them. Try To Stay Still For Longer And Longer Periods Of Time. Make Yourself Small And Like A Stone. Curl The Edges Of Yourself Up And Fold Them Under Where No One Can See. ~pg 29, Susie's Sister Lindsey Dealing With Grief.

The Living Deserve Attention, Too