The scarf had been purchased in one of those tiny, exquisitely organized stores that can seduce you into thinking it matters less what you wear than how you accessorize what you wear, and the scarf came in just the noncolor colors that I like: mustard and khaki and taupe, shades of dun, nothing too vivid, yet subtly enlivening. I have traced the etiology of this object the better to convey the irrational significance of its loss. — Daphne Merkin , New York Times Magazine ,

In social terms, regardless of its etiology , memory loss may be a way of coping with harsh reality. — Elizabeth W. Markson , Growing Old in America ,