I spent years thinking I had to make a choice between being true to myself and being with a man and not having a family, and trying to live something of a lie and being with a woman and having children.

I have always believed in trying to be a good person and giving to the world, and treating others in a just, kind, merciful way.

I had known a couple of people who had died, but the loss of my mother contained something of the profoundly unknowable.

We cannot bear a pointless torment, but we can endure great pain if we believe that it's purposeful.

Treating an identity as an illness invites real illness to make a braver stand.

Your gender identity is who you are. Sexual identity is who you bounce that off of.

There is no question that abuse, drugs and exposure to violence at home can exacerbate someone's criminal tendencies enormously. But there are many, many criminals who don't come from that background.