I don't think any of us get off this planet without suffering enormously. And one of the chief ways we suffer is by loving people who are incredibly limited by the fact that they're human beings, and they're going to disappoint us and break our hearts …. Your parents—no matter how great their marriage was, at some point it trembled in its foundation, and it was terrifying. [Or] you fell in love with someone who didn't love you back. Or whatever. We are all heartbroken. It's the human condition.

Editor's Note: Mary Karr is an award-winning writer, best-known for her New York Times best-selling books Lit and The Liars' Club. In 2009, Karr, who described herself as a "blackbelt sinner and lifelong agnostic," surprised the literary world by embracing Christian faith.