I think we’re [men and women] more similar. In that we all deal with our fantasy lives and sometimes are disappointed by reality.

You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.

I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.

The stones themselves are thick with history, and those cats that dash through the alleyways must surely be the ghosts of the famous dead in feline disguise.

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.

Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own.

Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.

How wonderful to have someone to blame! How wonderful to live with one's nemesis! You may be miserable, but you feel forever in the right.

My generation was not only maligned in book reviews and attacked in graduate school but we lived to see our adored and adorable daughters wonder why feminism had become a dirty word.

Spirituality is not adopting more beliefs and assumptions but uncovering the best in you.

When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.

When I'm working on something, I proceed as if no one else will ever read it.

Garrison Keillor read several of my poems on 'The Writer's Almanac' and I've heard from listeners nationally and internationally. That's one of the great gifts of email.

I was thinking about the legacy of ghosts in fiction, and specifically the moral power of those Dickensian ghosts. Because a ghost can be a very powerful but also manipulative element.

By the end of the writing process, which is about 80 songs per album, I look at the material and think, what's going to make a difference in someone's life.

An atheist is as religious as a theist.

In real life I've learned to love not wearing any makeup whatsoever, and I'm super low-maintenance when it comes to my hair.

The lottery is a tax on ignorance, and all the losers that play the game are paying the price for their stupidity.

I have always had an interest in how cultural rituals play into something as unpredictable as romance.