"The moment that changed me for ever was the moment my first child was born. I was happy, filled with hope, and thought, 'Now I understand the whole point of work, of life, of love.'"

"When I began to make some money, I really wanted to have a home."

"The Peace Corps is a sort of Howard Johnson's on the main drag into maturity."

"Travel works best when you're forced to come to terms with the place you're in."

"I take mentoring very seriously and I am on the board of an organization called Girls Write Now, where we match teen girls and writing mentors because it changes their lives."

"I think a story should take as long to tell as it is appropriate to that particular story."

"I want to branch out. I want to write. I write poetry. I want to see my children grow up well."

"I think if you have a two-story office and you hire someone who's handicapped, it might be reasonable to let him have an office on the first floor rather than the government saying you have to have a $100,000 elevator."