“I keep a Rilke quote above my writing desk: “Love and death are the greatest gifts that are given to us; mostly they are passed on unopened.” This statement is essential, inescapable, beautiful, brutal, and true. We are born to love (which means we are born to grieve); and we are also born to die (which means we were born to live, and boldly). I’ve been carrying this quote around in my head, my heart, even scribbled on a cocktail napkin folded up in my wallet for a time, but it wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I realized what it meant and the lifetime investment it required. And that’s when I started to write with the intention and purpose that has changed my life." From I Would Die If I Were You: Notes on Craft and Truthtelling