I loved Dad more for treating the biological reality as trivial, irrelevant. He loved me no less than his other three children.

Don't waste time on what's not important. Don't get sucked into the drama. Get on with it: don't dwell on the past. Be a big person; be generous of spirit; be the person you'd admire.

Be a big person; be generous of spirit; be the person you'd admire.

I loved Dad more for treating the biological reality as trivial, irrelevant. He loved me no less than his other three children.

When I was 12 and met my real father for the first time, I was terrified I would lose the one I already had.

I was not a Southern California girl. I hated having my photograph taken. I felt shy and embarrassed around famous people.

The most important thing in convoluted families, I learnt as I wrote, is that the child feels loved. I knew from a young age that I was a problem which required constant solving; but I never felt unloved. I was lucky.