The richest most meaningful stories are found in small places: made, carried, crafted, told, and retold by apparently unimportant people.

The young women in my classes are feisty and clever and believe, often with the passion of youthful optimism, that feminism is a battle already won. I worry for them - and for my daughters, too.

I'm working on a nonfiction book on Nepal and a novel about diasporas.

Sometimes I like to play the soundtracks to famous musicals so we can all sing along. South Pacific is one of my favorites. Our neighbors must hate us.

If you can't return a favor, pass it on.

Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.

I can't pick out one single book that had such a profound personal impact.

It took a brave editor in the U.S. to sign a contract for Dancing Girls, and without her belief in the book, I'm not sure it would ever have found its way into print.

Don't call 'em dogs. Dogs are loyal and they run after balls.

I could write an entertaining novel about rejection slips, but I fear it would be overly long.

I thought it was something peculiar to me. I thought I was abnormal.

Be a good human.

Having unceasingly grateful life requires demonstrating gratitude daily whether our daily life treats us kindly or not.

I would hate to be a bee. Be surrounded by bees all the time.

Every day is a Sabbath to me. All pure water is holy water, and this earth is a celestial abode.

It reflects no great honour on a painter to be able to execute one thing well.

Life is a cycle of ends and starts.

If you don't like us, don't accept our invitations and don't invite us to come to see you. Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you.

I've lived too long with pain. I won't know who I am without it

You may see all that is around you But you may feel nothing at all. So try and close your eyes so tight And listen to the night time fall.

My first meeting with you only confirmed what I first suspected. You are a fraud, a charlatan and a shyster. My favourite kind of person, in fact.