Egypt loved the lotus because it never dies. It is the same for people who are loved.

Since 1985, I have written about contemporary Jewish practice and the Jewish community.

The Sabbath is a weekly cathedral raised up in my dining room, in my family, in my heart.

I got nice rejections explaining that historical fiction was a difficult sell. But I kept trying.

Why did I not know that birth is the pinnacle where women discover the courage to become mothers?

The painful things seemed like knots on a beautiful necklace, necessary for keeping the beads in place.

The more a daughter knows the details of her mother's life [...] the stronger the daughter.

One of his tears fell in my mouth, where it became a blue sapphire, source of strength, source of strength and eternal hope.

I tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection letters. And only write what you love.

My husband, Jim, converted to Judaism just before our wedding.

One of my great secrets was knowing I had the power to make her smile.

Small is the number of them that see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.

I left her because of you, not for you.

Lions are born knowing they are predators. Antelopes understand they are the prey.Humans are one of the few creatures on Earth given the choice.

Instead of going out to dinner, buy good food. Cooking at home shows such affection. In a bad economy, it's more important to make yourself feel good.

All beings exist ultimately in a condition of inner enlightenment. Enlightenment is in all things.

Change doth unknit the tranquil strength of men.

Read over your compositions and whenever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.

We thought we were done with these things but we were wrong. We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom.

Is the Jewish race thriftier than the Arab race?

You can't force yourself to say "yes" to a bigger life. You will do it in your way. You will do it when smallness hurts too much.