About the time I turned 50, I experienced the profound biological change that often accompanies women at that age. Also, I put two kids in college and lost both of my parents, so I'm no longer somebody's daughter.

The courage to try something new makes me proud.

I probably am more shy than people realize. But I'm shy when I leave a studio and I am just myself.

I spent an awful lot of my life underestimating myself and, as a result, not exceeding my own expectations.

My son has been known to throw a book at the television set when he called for me to come play and I was obviously busy in the box. But I'm told that children of television performers grow up thinking that all mommies or daddies work on TV and that it's no big deal.

I've come to recognize what I call my 'inside interests.' Telling stories. And helping people tell their stories is a sort of interpersonal gardening. My work at NBC News was to report the news, but in hindsight, I often tried to look for some insight to share that might spark a moment of recognition in a viewer.

I had had some months of depression. Not serious enough to keep me from work. So, I guess you'd call that a mild depression.