Mom could make small things seem miraculous. That was her talent.

— Matthew Quick

Nobody knows anything when they are in their midtwenties.

— Matthew Quick

Of course, I began to see Nikki, which was strange because I was staring into Danny's eyes, and Danny is a six-foot-three black man who looks nothing like my ex-wife.

— Matthew Quick

Pat, it's not sexual – it's modern dance.

— Matthew Quick

PS. Docent discus. (Latin. By teaching, we learn.)

— Matthew Quick

Real life often ends badly, like our marriage did, Pat. And literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for people to endure nobly.

— Matthew Quick

Remember – it's a long race, and you can always outwork talent in the end.

— Matthew Quick

She’s fulfilled her obligation, assuaged her conscience by finding me in the hallway and giving me the chance to freak out, and I’ve played my role too, by remaining calm, pretending to be okay, and therefore giving her permission to cross me off her things-to-do list. Now she can move on, and I can too. Once you understand how adults are controlled by the system, manipulating them is elementary.

— Matthew Quick

Silence has always been my default mode—my best defense against the rest of the world.

— Matthew Quick

Someday an opportunity will come. Think about Harry Potter. His life is terrible, but then a letter arrives, he gets on a train, and everything is different for him afterward. Better. Magical."" That's just a story."" So are we–we're stories too.

— Matthew Quick