Though my friends envied me because I always seemed so cheerful and confident, I was secretly terrified of practically everything.

There is no loneliness like the loneliness of a dead marriage.

I write lustily and humorously. It isn't calculated; it's the way I think. I've invented a writing style that expresses who I am.

A baby's a full time job for three adults. Nobody tells you that when you're pregnant, or you'd probably jump off a bridge. Nobody tells you how all-consuming it is to be a mother-how reading goes out the window and thinking too.

At certain historic moments, grandparents took on childrearing responsibilities. In many cultures, they still do. Chinese grandparents who are able to retire at 55 are seen all over Beijing bouncing grandbabies. In the United States, we can't afford to retire at 55.

Pregnancy seemed like a tremendous abdication of control. Something growing inside you which would eventually usurp your life.

I look forward and see myself look back.