Change isn't easy, it takes time.

Well I've been writing books. So that, by its nature, is kind of a solitary occupation. And from time to time I have research help, but mostly I've done those completely on my own.

I know my mother so well, so it's hard for me to remember that people have a certain image of her, but they don't really know her personality.

People don't always realize that my parents shared a sense of intellectual curiosity and a love of reading and of history.

To the extent that we are all educated and informed, we will be more equipped to deal with the gut issues that tend to divide us.

I think my mother... made it clear that you have to live life by your own terms and you have to not worry about what other people think and you have to have the courage to do the unexpected.

I grew up in a household where reading was encouraged. My mother believed in the power of words, and my father obviously did too.