I loved seeing my name in print, I loved seeing my words in print. I felt really privileged to be in the kind of company I was in at Esquire, but I didn't think it was going to launch a career as a top-notch journalist. It's just not what I wanted.

I never intended to be a journalist. Frankly, I don't think I ever was a journalist. I backed into it.

Why are we inspired by another person's courage? Maybe because it gives us the sweet and genuine surprise of discovering some trace, at least, of the same courage in ourselves.

I loved seeing my name in print, I loved seeing my words in print. I felt really privileged to be in the kind of company I was in at Esquire, but I didn't think it was going to launch a career as a top-notch journalist. It's just not what I wanted.

All of us ambitious young writers hoped to have a cover story in Esquire, of course. The idea was to write the best, most entertaining article that you can.

I've never written a hard journalism piece in my life. I've never wanted to do that.

When it became clear that Lennon was not going to speak with me, it really became a how-I-didn't-get-the-story story. It was a caper.