The darkest period of my life, so far, arrived the summer I was pregnant with my eldest son. The future was growing in me with all of its terrifying unpredictability, and I found myself anxious, unable to work and woefully at sea.

At some point, I picked up an old library copy of 'To The Lighthouse' someone had bought for 25 cents. I began to read and didn't stop until the sun had blistered my back. A mysterious rightness, a beautiful submerged truth had invaded me, one that has ever since seemed slightly beyond my grasp.

There aren't very many good models of feminine rage - and the ones that we remember are ones where women take that anger internally and implode themselves in a real way, like Anna Karenina or Emma Bovary.

But I've married a deeply sensible person who is extremely good at talking me down from my various ledges, and who takes care of me in a billion ways.

Visible success is important. It's important to be able to look on the TV and see yourself, turn on the radio and hear yourself. To see people from where you're from actually becoming successful.

Instead of trying to be the queen of cool, it feels like more of an achievement to work with mainstream brands and reach as many people as possible. It's more unexpected for someone like me.

If you can't do something today, it will happen tomorrow or day after. If you are physically healthy and keep trying to achieve your goals, you will achieve what you want sooner or later.

The team that gets to play to their plan is usually the team that has the most success.