I really just wanted to be a writer, but people tell you, 'You should have a backup career,' so I thought, 'OK, I'll act.' That was the foolishness of my vision for my life - that my backup career would be completely undependable.

Laura Bush went on national television during the week of my father's funeral and spoke out against embryonic stem cell research, pointing out that where Alzheimer's is concerned, we don't have proof that stem-cell treatment would be effective.

I'm very comfortable writing in the first person; it dives into the character in a way that's difficult if you're writing in the third person.

That is your legacy on this Earth when you leave this Earth: how many hearts you touched.

The memories stayed with him for so long, and stayed vivid. And it didn't matter to me that he'd already repeated that before. I could hear it forever.

I don't think it's an accident who our parents are; I believe we choose them. So maybe I chose my parents in order to effect change.

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