I think that's why you see so many Americans in Dublin look so sad: they are looking for the door through which they can begin to understand this place. I tell them, 'Go to the races.' I think it's the best place to start understanding the Irish.

Just luxuriate in a certain memory, and the details will come. It's like a magnet attracting steel filings.

We never really had any kind of a Christmas. This is one part where my memory fails me completely.

Sure, I went through my 'J'accuse' phase. I was so angry for so long, I could hardly have a conversation without getting into an argument. And it was only when I felt I could finally distance myself from my past that I began to write about what happened - not just to me, but to lots of young people. I think my story is a cautionary tale.

I'm really a family girl. My mom's like, 'As soon as you're on your own, we're going to move back to Indiana.' Well, that might be when I'm 26.

Russian children typically hear racist and ethnic slurs against Caucasus natives at home before hearing it on the streets.

Billy Elliot' prides itself on being a family show, and it made sense to specifically cater to a family audience with an earlier evening curtain time.

I write every day, including weekends. For writers, there are no weekends. It's just that your family is around, looking mournful, wondering when you're going to pay attention to them.