I spent a good deal of time going back over my childhood, my midlife, to try to understand who I was. We're supposed to be complete and whole, and you can't be whole if you're trying to be perfect. Doing a life review helped me get over the disease to please.

Ultimately we must concern ourselves with pulling out by its roots the decadence that controls our culture, the profit motive that controls our culture.

I think I look good for my age. I've always looked younger than I really am. I'm 67 and I look about, maybe 62 or something like that. And I think my healthy lifestyle has paid off. I suffer from osteoarthritis. That's genetic and there's nothing I can do about that, except to try and not jump up and down, but rather swim and bike, instead of jumping up and down.

Everyone should know that feeling of overcoming fear and mastering something. People who aren't taught that become soggy.

I always tried, in the books I wrote, to make it clear: Thin is not the goal. But I was thin. So no matter what I said, the subliminal message was, "You have to look a certain way." And I'm not happy about playing into that.

I was shocked into the realization that I myself had played an unwitting role as a movie star and sex symbol in perpetrating the stereotypes that affected women all over the world.

You cannot expect your children to be happy eating esoteric beige-colored foods when their friends get soda pop, Snickers, and Twinkies.