Sometimes you can't see your way out. The "dark night of the soul" - it's a reality for many, many people.

My problems aren't so different from anybody else.

I thought my book was done, then we went to Hawaii and the whole last chapter happened.

Each second is a second you can make a new choice, a better choice, a healthy choice, a present choice.

Everybody needs a way out of that pain. Many people choose drugs and alcohol. Some people obsessively exercise or develop strange dietary habits, which is what I did. At least it got me toward a path of healthier living.

How you live your life can affect your mental state.

Number one, we have to talk about mental illnesses. Number two, you can actually address things from a purer and honest direct line to what's been going on in your life and how you've been feeling and why you think the way you think. I do think there is a genetic predisposition for mental illness, for depression, for suicide, but I also think that lifestyle can change things. If you're an addict, if you drink and you're putting a depressant into your body, it's going to cause serious problems.