David Foster Wallace

"If you're not somehow rock-bottom, you're just going to keep sinking."

"The truth will set you free, but not before it pisses you off."

"Sometimes human beings have to just sit with things."

"The so-called 'real world' is actually fake; the fake world is actually real."

"We're all just trying to distract ourselves from thinking about death."

"The greatest lie is that you're supposed to know what you're doing."

"Art's about the only place we get to be honestly ourselves."

"Most of what we call love is actually just avoiding loneliness."

"You will be lonely sometimes, and that's okay."

"Advertising has invented the idea that you're incomplete without products."

"The most important thing is paying attention to what you're paying attention to."

"Everything that goes into a book must serve some purpose."

"Real freedom seems to require discipline and sacrifice."

"The way to get unstuck is to admit you're stuck."

"What makes something funny is often what makes it tragic."

"You have to be able to forgive yourself to move forward."

"The machinery of our society is fundamentally about distraction."

"Self-awareness might actually be the most painful thing possible."

"Writing is the only way I know to be completely honest."

"Time doesn't move forward when you're not paying attention to it."

"The worst kind of fear is fear of yourself."

"Real maturity is learning to accept things as they actually are."

"The paradox is that you have to be selfish to truly connect with others."

"Most human suffering comes from trying to be someone we're not."

"Literature is one of the few places left where authentic human experience exists."

"The ability to empathize is what separates humans from machines."

"You can't think your way out of the human condition."

"Entertainment culture has given us permission to be passive observers of life."

"The greatest gift you can give someone is your complete attention."

"Reality isn't depressing; the denial of reality is what's depressing."