When you listen to people who have accomplished so much, the one thing they always say is, "I didn't let anybody stop me." I really, really, steadfastly believe that.

I'm not a big note-taker, so I think that the way I decide is that whatever I remember I always consider something that's important. If I remember a joke then I know it's a good joke, if I remember a story then I know it's a good story, and so that's how I curate what stories I'm going to write for the book. And I go over them again, make sure there's a theme and all that stuff, but mostly, it is intuition.

I like the idea that we can contain our weirdness, but I prefer it when we wear it all over ourselves.

When you listen to people who have accomplished so much, the one thing they always say is, "I didn't let anybody stop me." I really, really, steadfastly believe that.

I find a lot of people struggling in their lives because they feel like it was expected they do a certain thing or act a certain way and not follow what their gut is telling them to do.

It's terrifying to think about all things that were awful for you. But for me, sharing all of them was so satisfying, because people read them and get to go, "Oh, okay, I don't have to feel so shitty about that," or maybe even, "Why was I feeling so shitty about that? I should own that and learn from that." Those are the sorts of stories I want to tell.

As a writer, I could write in Canada and still get the American benefits. But I wanted to come down here for the good weather and for the parties, I want to be social too. Being in LA is really great for that, for just running out and grabbing coffee with another writer. I couldn't do that in Canada. I love Los Angeles, and I love New York too; I just couldn't raise three kids there.