Growing up in a house of five girls, I couldn't help but glance at a fashion magazine or two.

I did every sport under the sun while growing up.

You have to grow thick skin and that only comes with time and learning.

I'm learning Spanish - I got Rosetta Stone for Christmas.

My family didn't have any money growing up. I'm just a girl from the ghetto; from Indio, California.

My mother, whom I love dearly, has continually revised my life story within the context of a complicated family history that includes more than the usual share of divorce, step-children, dysfunction, and obfuscation. I've spent most of my adult life attempting to deconstruct that history and separate fact from fiction.

What ends up in your scrapbook? The pictures where you look like a good guy and a good family man, and the children look adorable - and they're screaming the next minute. I've never seen a family album of screaming people.

Women face unique challenges in society, no doubt. But focusing narrowly on women as a special interest group isn't the winning play. The ability to pay your bills, send your kids to a good school, and keep your family safe are 'women's issues' after all.