En épocas difíciles, me habían dicho desde niña, lee, aprende, prepárate, recurre a la literatura. - Joan Didion

I will not forget the instinctive wisdom of the friend who, every day for those first few weeks, brought me a quart container of scallion-and-ginger congee from Chinatown. Congee I could eat. Congee was all I could eat.

I did not always think he was right nor did he always think I was right but we were each the person the other trusted.

My stake is always, of course, in the unmentioned girl in the plaid silk dress. Remember what it was to be me: that is always the point.