And if you want to know why great editors scare the pants off of writers everywhere, read 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' by Lynne Truss. The punctuation police are everywhere!

God, middle age is an unending insult.

Makes you grow up quick. Hard work makes you strong. I work hard every day; that's where I get my strength. That and knowing who I am.

Books were my passion and my escape from madness.

Isn’t it amazing how much good people can do for each other when you give them the opportunity to help?

Anyway, stories bring us together to find common ground, to find our way through life together, or just to entertain us, and I am just thrilled to be a part of that process.

That's what I wanted for myself for even just a little while-to be unaware of the rest of the world. I needed some time.

As authentic as it is riveting and ultimately unforgettable. Your past will find you-and it can change your life. I think it's the most soulful book Patti Callahan has ever written.

I think I've learned that if you want to be successful, you have to tell your story honestly and from your heart - and I think a healthy sense of humor doesn't hurt either.

The first indication of menopause is a broken thermostat. It's either that or your weight. In any case, if you don't do something, you could be dead by August. God, middle age is an unending insult.

A new year was a chance to start over. Maybe even, just maybe, there would be a peace on earth for one entire day.

The best teachers are those that can influence even the poorest of all learners.

For me it's important to be in balance. To not let fear get in the way of things, to not worry so much about protecting yourself all the time.

A terrorist can attack any time, any place using any technique and you can't defend everywhere against every technique at every moment.

I often don't go to sleep and work through the night. I can't seem to do my vocal takes if there's light outside. There's a gentleness to the night that leads me in my stride.

It's not that I write songs that are easy to get but I don't think there's a lesson that I'm trying to teach in any of my songs. There's not a moral at the end of it.

If anyone would like to hit me, they are perfectly welcome. I must warn you, though, that I might enjoy it. So maybe it's not the right kind of punishment.

Morality is only moral when it is voluntary.

There's nothing wrong or evil about having a bad day. There's everything wrong with making others have to have it with you.

Mum always taught us that compassion and kindness were the most important things in life, that it was better to be kind than right.

I will go through a lot of pain to beat someone. If there's pride and ego on the line, if I'm desperate, then I'm willing to go to a place where it hurts a lot more.