If I dismiss the ordinary—waiting for the special, the extreme, the extraordinary to happen - I may just miss my life.

I remember getting my first cell phone in New York, getting into a taxi and thinking "This is the end of solitude in the back of a taxi." What used to happen in the back of a taxi? You looked out the window. My brain has become less able to spend lengths of time without shifting, and I worry about that.

Courage is more important than confidence

In my life as a wife and mother, I'm always conscious of my desire to be present.

There is no end to the promotion. There is no end to the possibilities. You can continue to promote a book for years, literally.

There are books that a writer undertakes because she wants to go on a journey, and there are journeys a writer undertakes because she wants to write a book.

Part of my spiritual work is learning to live with the knowledge that we can't protect our loved ones from pain and heartache.