True 'joy' is the difference between just amusing ourselves to death and creating 'meaningful' pleasure.

We suffer pain, we hang tight to hope, we nurture expectations, we are plagued occasionally by fears, we are haunted by defeats and unrealized hopes . . . The hoplessness of which I speak is not limited.

I come from a great family. I've seen family life and I know how wonderful, how nurturing, and how wonderful it can be.

We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.

My mother was the most amazing person. She taught me to be kind to other women. She believed in family. She was with my father from the first day they met. All that I am, she taught me.

I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.

Far as I can tell, I still have most of my hair, my gut is not hanging over my belt, and I still have all of my teeth.