Think about the pressure to "pass" by lying about one's agethat familiar temptation to falsify a condition of one's birth oridentity and pretend to be part of a more favored group. Fair-skinned blacks invented "passing" as a term, Jews escaping anti-Semitism perfected the art, and the sexual closet continues the punishment, but pretending to be a younger age is probably the most encouraged form of "passing," with the least organized support for "coming out" as one's true generational self.

We choose to be writers because we don't want to talk.

There are many ways of supporting gender equality, from something as simple as paid sick leave and flexible work hours to attributing an economic value to all care-giving, and making that amount tax deductible.

This is what forty looks like. We've been lying so long, who would know?

Men have to ask, 'How can I combine career and family?'

women used to be elected only when their husbands died and they became widows. The men found this was too hard on them. That's why they've become feminists.

Gratitude never radicalized anybody. I don't care if they recognize the past, I just want them to get angry about the present and keep going.