An alcoholic father, poverty, my own juvenile diabetes, the limited English my parents spoke - although my mother has become completely bilingual since. All these things intrude on what most people think of as happiness.

If your child marches to a different beat, a different drummer, you might just have to go along with that music. Help them achieve what’s important to them.

[On the desert:] The wind was a constant, and when you paid attention, it seemed like the earth's own breathing.

There are no bystanders in life [...] Our humanity makes us each a part of something greater than ourselves.

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

Each one of them [referring to her family] believed that hiding things is never good and that by sharing them, we could give hope to some people - because so many people we know have suffered some of the same things.

I've never wanted to get adjusted to my income, because I knew I wanted to go back to public service. And in comparison to what my mother earns and how I was raised, it's not modest at all. I have no right to complain.