My grandfather was a prominent executive at Chevron (oil), and of course my father is a fairly radical and progressive environmentalist. But he was also a very active Democrat and pacifist. More importantly, he was one of the best storytellers I've ever met. I think that trait has been passed down the line, even to my kids.

I think everyone understands when these cycles are disrupted, especially in terms of institutionalized poverty, it's always will be difficult - patterns are put into place, and certain behaviors keep getting repeated.

I also think there is a wisdom and strength in that generation [of our parents], in terms of getting through difficult times, and there is a stoicism in the face of challenges that I greatly admire.

The interesting thing about the ACE study, as it began in the 1990s, is that it was based on a very strict set of ten questions. But what is evolving from that is a better understanding what kind of experiences are beyond the ten questions, and what kind of stressors it generates, there are so many ways that children can be exposed to ongoing stress.

When you introduce these tools into the community, they can be adopted and implemented at the local level - and the results have been powerful. We have to ask the questions, how do people survive in poverty and other challenges of traumatic childhoods? And, until we fix this underlying problems, how do we help people in the meantime?

Dyslexia is a neurological issue, not a character flaw.

In middle age I've begun to embrace stress reducing behaviors. Just in doing yoga, for example, my health has improved dramatically.