I stopped going to mass, and boy, it was painful for me, and it was certainly painful for my family, but I just couldn't ratify their behavior and their decisions anymore by showing up on Sundays.

Not writing at all leads to nothing.

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.

I know a lot and have written a lot and have thought a lot about motherhood.

I hope readers will do what I do when I read a novel I like: talk in ways that will illuminate their own lives.

I'm sure not afraid of success and I've learned not to be afraid of failure. The only thing I'm afraid of now is of being someone I don't like much.

Wow, so much of the way I've transacted my life... so much of the results that I'm happy about are because of what Daddy did.