Those who rhapsodize about the ease and joy of childhood have perhaps forgotten what it's like to be 12 years old.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too.

The painter who feels obligated to depict his subjects as uniformly beautiful or handsome and without flaws will fall short of making art.

To share our stories is not only a worthwhile endeavor for the storyteller, but for those who hear our stories and feel less alone because of it.

[On home births:] In a house where there had been three people, there were now four, although no one had come in the door.

My job is writing. I get paid to do it. When was the last time you heard someone challenge a doctor for making money off of cancer?

When people ask what I write about, that's what I tell them: 'The drama of human relationships.' I'm not even close to running out of material.