Writing and cookery are just two different means of communication.

To make a difference is not a matter of accident...People CHOOSE to make a difference.

One isn't born with courage. One develops it by doing small courageous things-in the way that if one sets out to pick up a 100-pound bag of rice, one would be advised to start with a five-pound bag, then 10 pounds, then 20 pounds, and so forth, until one builds up enough muscle to lift the 100-pound bag. It's the same way with courage. You do small courageous things that require some mental and spiritual exertion.

It is sad but true that sometimes we need the tragedy to help us to see how human we are and how we are more alike than we are different.

Whenever something went wrong when I was young - if I had a pimple or if my hair broke - my mom would say, 'Sister mine, I'm going to make you some soup.' And I really thought the soup would make my pimple go away or my hair stronger.

We need language to tell us who we are, how we feel, what we're capable of- to explain the pains and glory of our existence.

I want to be a good human being. I'm doing my best, and I'm working at it.