that strange conflict in the American character: we pride ourselves on being the melting pot of the world but we insist on regarding most immigrants with suspicion.

I used up every cent I had earned as an actress.

When my mood was high, I seemed normal, even buoyant. I felt smarter. I had secrets. I could see God in a light bulb

Day after day, I spent long afternoons in the talent pool, being told how to walk, how to talk, how to sit.

I had no romantic interest in Gable. I considered him an older man.

It is difficult to write about any form of mental disease, especially your own, without sounding as if you were examining a bug under glass.

Trying to make order out of my life was like trying to pick up a jellyfish.