Sexism goes so deep that at first it's hard to see; you think it's just reality.

Our society has very much limited our choices, even regarding the food we think acceptable.

When you witness the end of a life up close day by day, you begin to understand time and mortality in profound ways. You see time's relativity, death's necessity.

There is a lot of gender segregation. You still have many poor women who work in women-only jobs. In the family, in most cases, only women have the double job of working outside the home and taking care of the family.

Solitude offers a lot that being coupled or being in a group does not. It helps us learn what we are capable of.

In my books, my idea is always to explore social context and social forces.

For many decades my relations with my parents constituted unfinished business. I had dealt with them through sheer avoidance and guilt.