Touring is tough. You're almost in a haze because you don't really know where you are half the time: You're in a hotel room one moment and the next thing you know you're onstage performing for 60 000 people then you're back on an airplane. It's very hectic and I couldn't do it without my family.

On the one hand the idea of marriage and the sort of traditional family life repulses me. But on the other hand I long for it you know what I mean? I'm constantly in conflict with things. And it is because of my past and my upbringing and the journey that I've been on.

But you know we have a very normal family. We've had our ups and downs. You know we've had our issues but we've had great cause for celebration.

My family can always tell when I'm well into a novel because the meals get very crummy.

It has to be real and I think a lot of the problems we have as a society is because we don't acknowledge that family is important and it has to be people who are present you know and mothers and fathers both are not present enough with children.

I was lucky. My family is wonderful. And it's funny because most of my best friends come from very large families. So it always felt as if I had lots of siblings though in the end I had to leave them and go home. I kind of got the best of both worlds as a kid.

My family truly believes they are better cooks than I am. They see me as Giada not as a celebrity chef. To them I'm just me - their granddaughter niece etc. and they're older and wiser. I like that because it keeps you grounded.

Because I didn't have brothers I was always interested in the kids down the street that had four brothers in their family so I became one of them - but it was not my family.

If I'm diagnosed with cancer I might become despondent but someone young might not and they might need connections with somebody outside their circle of family because their family is so despondent.

The countries who do the best in international comparisons whether it's Finland or Japan Denmark or Singapore do well because they have professional teachers who are respected and they also have family and community which support learning.