My poor family. I try to protect them from my work. My parents are very religious, and my brother and sister are very normal. We have an understanding, I think, that what I do isn't quite down their alley.

My poor family. I try to protect them from my work. My parents are very religious, and my brother and sister are very normal. We have an understanding, I think, that what I do isn't quite down their alley.

I don't consider myself attractive. I'm an academic, and in academia, people will write you off if you look younger.

I'm a big people pleaser; I had a very awkward adolescence. Part of me is still that person who wants everyone to like me.

I've worked hard on my doctorate, and I want to be acknowledged for that. But I also wanted to comment on this message that women get that the most important thing they can do is police their appearance.

I think humor is like a shield that lets you get as close to the sad sad flame as possible - far closer, oftentimes, than drama.

For many years I wrote nothing but "I will not sleep with Steve Almond" over and over again, page after page à la Jack Torrance in The Shining. Finally, hundreds of psychotherapy sessions and an intense shaman-guided DMT sweat lodge experience led to a breakthrough, and I was able to write about other people I would not sleep with, and also about people I would.