We only have what we give.

I'm very optimistic because I think that the real strength of a nation like the United States comes from blending cultures. There's no way that you can close the frontiers anywhere. The borders are there to be violated permanently.

The first lie of fiction is that the author gives some order to the chaos of life: chronological order, or whatever order the author chooses.

You spend the first part of your life collecting things ... and the second half getting rid of them.

Women have always been courageous... They are always fearless when protecting their children and in the last century they have been fearless in the fight for their rights.

The world starts to exist, for Americans, when we are in conflict with a place. And then all of a sudden, Afghanistan pops up on the TV screen and it becomes a place. And it exists for three weeks and then it disappears into thin air.

One of the things that always comes up in my writing is the search for freedom, especially in women. I always write about women who are marginalized, who have no means or resources and somehow manage to get out of those situations with incredible strength - and that is more important than anything.