" i tried not to think about my life. i did not have any good solid plans for it long-term—no bad plans either, no plans at all—and the lostness of that, compared with the clear ambitions of my friends (marriage, children, law school), sometimes shamed me. other times in my mind i defended such a condition as morally and intellectually superior—my life was open and ready and free—but that did not make it any less lonely.

— lorrie moore, a gate at the stairs.