I know a lot and have written a lot and have thought a lot about motherhood.

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.

I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

A finished person is a boring person.

There is a little boy inside the man who is my brother... Oh, how I hated that little boy. And how I love him too.

After all those years as a woman hearing 'not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,' almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, 'I'm enough.'

Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.

There is a lot of talk now about metal detectors and gun control. Both are good things. But they are no more a solution than forks and spoons are a solution to world hunger.

Look back, to slavery, to suffrage, to integration and one thing is clear. Fashions in bigotry come and go. The right thing lasts.

You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life ... Your entire life ... Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.

America is a country that seems forever to be toddler or teenager, at those two stages of human development characterized by conflict between autonomy and security.

Be strong enough to move mountains.

Is it love, or is it attachment? Do you want to love her, or do you want to control her?

When the week begins, try your best to let your best overcome your worst and that is the best. Do your best to have a good week and never be weak in the week.

The greatest astonishment of my life was the discovery that the man who does the work is not the man who gets rich

Everyone says, 'It's just an honor to be nominated,' but that's so not true. You want to win.

The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied: which one of these things belongs to me?

Don't let your life just go in one eye and out the other.

The best author will be the one who is ashamed to become a writer.

Tell truth, and shame the devil.

The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed.