Friends seem to be like aspirin; we don't really know why they make a sick person feel better, but they do.

Over the years, I've found that I either live life or write about it. I can't seem to do both simultaneously - I have to do it sequentially. When I write incessantly, I lose touch with the issues and passions that fuel the work. But when I get too involved in organizations or movement endeavors, I almost forget that I'm a writer. It's a constant struggle to find a balance between these two worlds - the solitary writing life and the life of a social justice activist.

Work-family conflicts - the trade-offs of your money or your life, your job or your child - would not be forced upon women with such sanguine disregard if men experienced the same career stalls caused by the-buck-stops-here responsibility for children.

Control is a big issue when you're sick. It's the first thing you lose - other losses come later.

Apathy is the self-defense of the powerless.

Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to be consistently inept because they are thought to be so competent at everything else.

It's smart to be friends with one's sex partner but dumb to have sex with one's friends.