America had taken my father from me. And over most of the years of his illness, I gradually started feeling this support system from this country who-people grieving along with us.

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.

Stories live in your blood and bones, follow the seasons and light candles on the darkest night-every storyteller knows she or he is also a teacher.

There is a point in the grieving process when you can run away from memories or walk straight toward them.

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

[On her father, Ronald Reagan:] How do you argue with someone who states that the people who are sleeping on the grates of the streets of America 'are homeless by choice'?

Life Lesson 3: You can't rush grief. It has its own timetable. All you can do is make sure there are lots of soft places around - beds, pillows, arms, laps.