At Home in the World is the story of a young woman, raised in some difficult circumstances, and how she survives. It tells a story of redemption, not victimhood.

More than any other setting - more than battlefields or boardrooms or a spaceship headed for intergalactic travel - I'll put my money on the family to provide an endless source of comedy, tragedy and intrigue.

Every child, woman, and man should possess license to speak or sing in his or her true voice.

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

No, I said. I didn't remember that. There was so much to remember, sometimes the best thing was to forget.

The real drug, I came to believe, was love.

One of the sad realities of being a parent is that the same stuff you know is exciting, educational, and enriching in your child'slife is often messy, smelly and exhausting to deal with.