I'm bred for farm work, and for such folk, the only A's you get come from effort. Strife and strain are all the world can offer, and they temper you into something unbreakable because Lord knows they'll try -- without let up -- to break you.

I was 40 years old before I became an overnight success, and I'd been publishing for 20 years.

Nobody sounds good writing about your divorce, let's face it.

I'm not nearly smart enough or imaginative enough to tackle the novel form. Never happen.

If you lie to your husband - even about something so banal as how much you drink - each lie is a brick in a wall going up between you, and when he tells you he loves you, it's deflected away.

There are women succeeding beyond their wildest dreams because of their sobriety.

I don't think I look like the pope's favorite Catholic - at least not under close scrutiny.