Well when I was a little girl we had 17 cats once. They all lived outside and they kept having more kittens. My mom made us put little ribbons around each kitten's neck put them in a wagon and go door-to-door around the neighborhood to try to give them away.

I was born in Texas and I lived there 'till I was 8. Then I moved to the Dominican Republic with my mom lived there for two years and forgot every word of English I knew.

Sure my childhood was unusual. All these eccentric wild people frequented our home: rock stars drag queens models bikers freaks. But I was not this little rich girl. My mom and I lived in an apartment.

It was my mom and I against the world. We lived in New York in this bohemian lifestyle where an extended group of artists and photographers were like my aunts and uncles.

I look at my father. He is one of my heroes. He is such an incredible classy man. He was such a great father and such a great husband in so many ways and we lived through some pretty tough times losing my mom. When I see all that he did I think 'Wow that's a really wonderful man.'

I lived with my mom in a really small apartment. My bedroom was like in the living room. That's why I still love to sleep on couches now.

My mom lived by herself with two kids. Sacrifice was the name of the game at our house.

Men do not understand books until they have a certain amount of life or at any rate no man understands a deep book until he has seen and lived at least part of its contents.

Millions of men have lived to fight build palaces and boundaries shape destinies and societies but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.

I mean honestly we have to be clear that the life for many Afghan women is not that much different than it was a hundred years ago 200 years ago. The country has lived with so much violence and conflict that many people men and women just want it to be over.