I think you must make a few [mistakes]. Of you don't, you're probably thinking too much. That's the worst mistake you can make.

— Joe Hill

It's because she doesn't love being lonely. When a girl loses her virginity, though, it may hurt, but it's real. It might be the realest, most private thing you could ever see in another person. You wonder who she'll be at that moment, when you finally get past all the pretend.

— Joe Hill

It's like in the Bible. You can't always get what you want, but if you really need something, you usually find it."" What part of the Bible is that from?" IG asked her. "The Gospel of Keith Richards?

— Joe Hill

I wanted to explore this idea that the bogey man in the closet is scary, but being a mother is scarier.

— Joe Hill

I want you to remember what was good in me, not what was most awful. The people you love should be allowed to keep their worst to themselves.

— Joe Hill

I wouldn't underrate the power of regret. It doesn't feel good... But it's hard to learn anything important without it.

— Joe Hill

Kids always think they're coming into a story at the beginning, when usually they're coming in at the end.

— Joe Hill

[Lou]: “I’m not talking about the angioplasty. I mean the stuff you’re pumping into me. What is it? Something serious?”[Nurse]: “Oh. This is nothing. You’re not going under the knife today, so you don’t get the good shit. This is a blood-thinning agent. Also, it’ll mellow you out. Got to keep the mellows going.”[Lou]: “It’ll put me to sleep?”[Nurse]: “Faster than a marathon of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

— Joe Hill

Max raised the mallet. He stared into her face and wished he could say he was sorry, that he didn't want to do it. When he slammed the mallet down, with an echoing bang, he heard a high, piercing scream and almost screamed himself, believing for an instant it was her, still somehow alive; then realized it was Rudy. Max was powerfully built, with his, deep water-buffalo chest and Dutch farmer's shoulders. With the first blow he had driven the stake over two-thirds of the way in. He only needed to bring the mallet down once more. The blood that squelched up around the wood was cold and had a sticky, viscous consistency. Max swayed, his headlight. His father took his arm.' Goot,' Abraham whispered into his ear, his arms around him, squeezing him so tightly his ribs creaked. Max felt a little thrill of pleasure - an automatic reaction to the intense, unmistakable affection of his father's embrace - and was sickened by it. 'To do offense to the house of the human spirit, even after its tenant depart, is no easy thing, I know.'("Abraham's Boys")

— Joe Hill

Men, she thought, were one of the world's few sure comforts, like a fire on a cold October night, like cocoa, like broken-in-slippers. Their clumsy affections, their bristly faces, and their willingness to do what needed to be done - cook an omelette, change lightbulbs, make with hugging - sometimes almost made being a woman fun.

— Joe Hill