"Some of your teachers are actually closer in age to you than you think."

"I deliberately did not read anything about the Vietnam War because I felt the politics of the war eclipsed what happened to the veterans. The politics were irrelevant to what this memorial was."

"You should be having more fun in high school, exploring things because you want to explore them and learning because you love learning-not worrying about competition."

"If we can't face death, we'll never overcome it. You have to look it straight in the eye. Then you can turn around and walk back out into the light."

"Sometimes I just walk through; I just show up, as in The Other Sister."

"Her death has had a huge effect on me. It felt like a big hole appeared on my left side - apparently your left side is your mother - which I thought could never be filled. Now I think what you have to do is fill it with yourself because your mother is part of you. I'm easing into that space, using it and being comforted by it."

"I am close - too close - with my family."

"I was raised in a group home for 14 years, so I was a beneficiary of philanthropy. I didn't have a family. The nameless, faceless strangers were my family. They gave me an education, put food on the table and clothes on my back. I am who I am because of that formative experience. Now I am paying it forward."