Going gray is like ejaculating: you know it can happen prematurely, but when it does it comes as a total shock.

The whole celebrity culture thing - I'm fascinated by, and repelled by, and yet I end up knowing about it.

The mark of a good book is it changes every time you read it.

I suppose if you've never bitten your nails, there isn't any way to explain the habit. It's not enjoyable, really, but there is a certain satisfaction - pride in a job well done.

In my opinion, the ability to love another person is one of God's greatest gifts, and I thank God every day for enabling me to give and share love with the people in my life.

Learning what you don't want to do is the next best thing to figuring out what you want to do.

Be honest about what you see, get out of the way and let the story reveal itself

You can't stop suffering, you can't stop terrible things from happening, but you can bear witness... The least us reporters can do is go there and tell their stories.

Anyone who has experienced a certain amount of loss in their life has empathy for those who have experienced loss.

If you feel like an outsider, you tend to observe things a lot more.

The people I admire most hadn't really followed a particular path that was visible when they were on it.

Be free! Get out of your prison of conforming thoughts.

There is a strength of character in the people who have, by and large, never experienced comfort.

You have to be quite grounded, and I don't know what that is. Sometimes, that means being vulnerable.

I'd like to do a play, but I can't find the right thing. I don't want it to be a starring role. I just want to play a really interesting character.

Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.

Mediocre men sometimes fear great office, and when they do not aim at it, or when they refuse it, all that is to be concluded is that they are aware of their mediocrity.

So much of what I say gets sensationalized and journalists have to report on scandal because that's what people are hungry to read about.

I get my inspiration from everyone when I need it and how I need it.

Every time one of my books sells a million copies in paperback, Pan Macmillan gives me a gold statuette of Pan. I have about 20 of them.

Our test is infallible. Whatever view of reality deepens our sense of the tremendous issues of life in the world wherein we move, is for us nearer the truth than any view which diminishes that sense.