I savor life. When you have anything that threatens life... it prods you into stepping back and really appreciating the value of life and taking from it what you can.

I hope in my book [My Beloved World], that the sense that I really feel connected comes through.

The schools that suffer are the schools in, in poor neighborhoods. They are the neighborhoods with the greatest need, with the parents struggling to work and to make ends meet. They don't have enough resources to give, they don't have enough resources to pay more, and these are the neighborhoods that go first.

In my experience when a friend unloaded about a boyfriend or spouse, the listener soaked up the complaint and remembered it long after the speaker had forgiven the offense.

I'm a New Yorker, and I jaywalk with the best of them.

People who live in difficult circumstances need to know that happy endings are possible. Page 1.

I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.