When I was a child, our summer days were spent swimming; chlorine in my hair was like perfume to me.

Just think: people decided one day that a day should be set aside for motherhood and fatherhood. What a great concept that is.

I had this odd sibling rivalry with America.

I think that nothing teaches you more about life than death and dying.

I'm not the angry, rebellious child that I was. You can remain a child for a long time. I certainly did. I was a slow learner.

The thing about losing any loved one, I think, particularly in a long disease, is that you know that other people have gone through it and are going through it, but I think for every person it feels unique.

The house I grew up in had large plate-glass windows, which birds frequently crashed into headfirst. My father helped me assemble a bird hospital, consisting of a few shoe boxes, some old rags, and tiny dishes for water and food.