I'm much more of a minimalist. My mom was Russian, so she loved lots of jewelry and opulence and tons of paintings on the wall and lots of clothes. I'll buy one thing that I love a season and wear it all the time.

We lose things all the time. We lose ourselves every day. We lose our minds occasionally. But it's just a part of life, loss.

Falling in love for the first time, and then the heartbreak of having it end, is difficult, but I don't think it would ever hurt as much as when my mother was killed in the boating accident. I feel a part of my heart has already been broken, and that place is reserved for mother.

I was always attracted to characters that were in some level of turmoil or suffering because I had so much of that in my own life and I wanted to channel it. I was always into darker things.

Being vulnerable has always been my way of dealing with my grief, from the beginning. Even before I knew I was that way, I cried it out all the time. I expressed my feelings.

I thought my mom's whole purpose was to be my mom. That's how she made me feel.

In the past I've always been the type of person to try and fit a square peg in a round hole. I can be very tenacious like that. But since I've had my daughter, I've found that I like the way life unfolds when I give the universe some space to guide me. It took me until my forties to realize that.