I went for endless auditions for tiny parts in obscure plays, and never got one job until I was in 'Four Weddings'.

I do try and curb my mouth, but I find it really hard. I wonder how many jobs I've talked myself out of!

Some people in my family achieved a lot, some people inherited a lot. But I turned my back on the whole thing.

My parents had four children quickly, divorced quickly - when I was two - and my mother remarried quickly. We were suddenly in a different environment with a different father.

General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be.

In college, I'd gone abroad to get away from a campus where I felt I didn't fit in. And I started writing fiction, at least in part, because it was a way to feel like I was around people, to feel the energy and hum of others' inner lives, without the real-time frustrations and difficulties of actual relationships.

My husband and I have, in some ways, a non-traditional relationship - especially when it comes to domestic duties. He does most of the cooking, dishes, and laundry, while I do most of the yard work. I love to mow the lawn! And I take great satisfaction in planting and pruning.

People wonder if there is a relationship between my lack of sight and the way I sing. But there's no connection.