I merged those two words black and feminist because I was surrounded by black women who were very tough and and who always assumed they had to work and rear children and manage homes.

I'm surrounded by very powerful women and very progressive men.

I became much happier when I realized I shouldn't depend solely on my career for my sense of self. So I developed other interests and surrounded myself with a small group of friends I could trust.

My grandmother was a teacher my sister was a teacher my daughter was a teacher and is now a superintendent in northern California and my son-in-law is a high school principal. I am surrounded.

As a teacher at Princeton I'm surrounded by people who work hard so I just make good use of my time. And I don't really think of it as work - writing a novel in one sense is a problem-solving exercise.

The hardest thing to find in life is balance - especially the more success you have the more you look to the other side of the gate. What do I need to stay grounded in touch in love connected emotionally balanced? Look within yourself.

There's more to life than success and if you can try to be more well-rounded you'll be able to enjoy your success more. It won't own you or control you.

When adversity strikes that's when you have to be the most calm. Take a step back stay strong stay grounded and press on.

I think it's great that we have organisations like Greenpeace. In a pluralistic society we want to have people who point out all the problems that the Earth could encounter. But we need to understand that they are not presenting a full and rounded view.

Honest pioneer work in the field of science has always been and will continue to be life's pilot. On all sides life is surrounded by hostility. This puts us under an obligation.