I do tend to be almost kind of Pollyanna-ish person.

As I said, I had this fabulous college education. At college I met the man to whom I've been married for 34 years and who is the father of those three kids. I seriously considered going to another college, and my life would have been completely different in every way.

When I write a novel, I have what I think of as an icon that helps get me into the world of the book.

When an actress takes off her clothes onscreen but a nursing mother is told to leave, what message do we send about the roles of women?

Barack Obama is the kind of guy who likes to do things by inches, he's the kind of guy who likes to build consensus and compromise.

The victim mentality may be the last uncomplicated thing about life in America.

Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose around you so you couldn't hear yourself think. And then, when the roar died down, even when the fires were damped, everything was different.