My mother was born on a tiny farm in County Mayo. She was meant to stay at home and look after the farm while her brother and sister got an education. However she came to England on a visit and never went back.

When I walk up on that shore in Florida I want millions of those AARP sisters and brothers to look at me and say 'I'm going to go write that novel I thought it was too late to do. I'm going to go work in Africa on that farm that those people need help at. I'm going to adopt a child. It's not too late I can still live my dreams.'

It was something I was more interested in myself. When I went to see my sister dance at ballet I was really into costumes and the arts and my family was also supportive of whatever me and my sister wanted to do. I would say I pushed myself the most to be into design.

If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit then nothing can be more redemptive.

I can't wait for my little sisters to start dating because it will really be fun to pick on their boyfriends.

I'm quite sensitive to women. I saw how my sister got treated by boyfriends. I read this thing that said when you are in a relationship with a woman imagine how you would feel if you were her father. That's been my approach for the most part.

I think that every therapist that I know including my dad and my sister have their own issues. But that empathy is what makes them good at their job.

Recently I was in Bernalda my dad's ancestral home town in Italy. He has just refurbished a palazzo and turned it into a hotel so we had my sister's wedding there. It was beautiful.

I was born in Corpus Christi Texas the youngest of four girls including my oldest sister Lisa who has special needs. My mom was a special education teacher and my dad worked on the Army base. We weren't wealthy but we were determined to succeed.

As a brother and sister our tastes were pretty different growing up. He liked a lot of early hip hop. My dad didn't understand it and would try to talk him out of it.