For two years I watched my parents' lives wind to a close. This made me aware of old age as a one stage, the final one, of a long journey.

Within walking distance of any spot on Earth there's probably more than enough mystery to investigate in a lifetime.

Sexism goes so deep that at first it's hard to see; you think it's just reality.

Fiction is ideally suited to re-creating the important emotional aspects of history.

There is still nothing like equality for women in jobs, in family. There's just an awareness that inequality is not acceptable.

My mirror image always had to be interpreted. And for that I sought my reflection in someone else's eyes.

Being alone for a woman is probably much more scary than for a man. I'm all for getting over our fears by facing them head-on.

Everything is connected. There is no such thing as an island, especially in our world, global village, the whole thing. Pollution from way across the ocean circulates in the air.

Many people spend the ends of their lives alone, and probably a lot of years in the middle of their lives, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience the rewards of solitude.

Usually, ordinary histories don't get the emotional feel of a period. That's what a novel can do.

In my books, my idea is always to explore social context and social forces.

Indeed, bribery, favoritism, and corruption in a great variety of forms were rampant not only in politics, but in all levels of society.

Vocabularies are crossing circles and loops. We are defined by the lines we choose to cross or to be confined by.

Trust is like a glass vase, beautiful except there is no way of putting it back together when it breaks.

Loss is the uninvited door that extends us an unexpected invitation to unimaginable possibilities.

We are all a little broken, looking for something whole to hang on to. But sometimes, what seems whole is even more broken than we are.

I enjoy comedic things. People don't understand it's the hardest thing to do. We have a ratio of 25-to-1 between good dramatic actors and people who are considered good comic actors.

Hey, we just enjoy it. I think we think we're getting the hang of this thing, you know?

When you finish college, you don’t suddenly have thousands of dollars a year to spend elsewhere - in fact, you have to find a way to pay back your loans.

Jesus fought Satan in 'hand to hand combat' . . . 'you need to protect this victory.'

Who knows nothing base, Fears nothing known.