Becoming Duchess Goldblatt

by Duchess Goldblatt

Once you let go of hope, you never have to be disappointed again.

It’s a death sentence to any creative effort to have someone looking over your shoulder in real time, offering unwelcome critiques.

I don’t think I’m in a circle anymore. I might be in a dotted line now, or just a dot.

Hopes and dreams need air. Cracking a window in the car an inch and leaving them behind while you run errands will not work. They could die.

“She was . . . an untouchable. Not from scorn or fear, but from the obscenity of the loss,” wrote Bill Clegg in his novel, Did You Ever Have a Family.

Writers can be a lot of fun at parties, but word to the wise: Keep an eye on your good memories. They’ll strip them down for parts.

Choices are a luxury. We forget that sometimes, don’t we? Not everybody gets to have choices.

When we rely on self-deprecating humor, we’re trying to neutralize criticism preemptively,

It’s harder work to reach out further for the joke that’s funny and can’t hurt anybody.

It’s best if you decide to be true to the relationship rather than being true to the person. Because when the person lets you down (and he/she will!), you’ll say to yourself, “All bets are off!” And you’ll feel free to break a trust or breach privacy or be disloyal in big or small ways. It’s a justification. If you commit to the relationship, you’re being faithful to that. Same with friendship. That’s what I endeavor to do.—PJ

If you’ve ever wondered what the right thing is to say to someone who’s grieving a death, I think this is it: Tell me all about your dear one.

Close your eyes and visualize the best possible outcome. When it’s not looking, grasp it by the neck and fling it into reality.

I spilled a bag of ellipses all over the floor. Now I don’t know where anything begins or ends.