When I was first approached about doing an autobiography, I said, 'absolutely not.' But when I sat down, memories came pouring out. It wrote very quickly - I think there was an emotional impulse, because once I started in, the story itself carried me along. It was a very intense writing period and took a year and change to finish.

It's important always to have a sense of wonder.

I think everybody encounters difficulty. It's just more pitched in some people.

Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.

Sometimes a leap of faith doesn't pan out.

You don't ever see a thriller with a spiritual backbone.

Know today that God approves of you. He's pleased with you. He may not always be pleased with your choices or some of the things you do, but when God looks at you, He sees His amazing creation.

I pored over art books and absorbed the placidness of Monet's garden, the sparkling color of the Impressionists, the strength and solidity of Michelangelo's figures showing the titanic power of humans at one with God, Jan Vermeer's serene Dutch women bathed in gorgeous honey-colored light... My conviction grew that art was stronger than death.