If I had a magic wand, I would live in a building in New York, big enough so my friends, my family could all have apartments in it. We'd raise our kids in the same space and have backyard barbecues and get old and fat together.

I realized eventually that when I ran out of places to stay and found myself on the D train and in Central Park, I was actually homeless.

As well as being blind, Ma turned out to have the same mental illness that her mother had had. Between 1986 and 1990, she suffered six schizophrenic bouts, each requiring her to be institutionalised for up to three months.

People are surprised by the poverty and think that I wasn't cared for. But that wasn't the case - I was deeply loved.

What I said was that Joe's family was different than my family, that he came from a very affectionate family. My family was very loving, but we didn't show that kind of affection. So for me, that took me a little while to get used to that.

The heart of who I am as a person and as a man is forgiveness, after forgiving my father for a lot of things that were done when I was child.

When someone's in the hospital - be it a family member or anyone that has something wrong with them - if you love 'em, then you visit them.

Finding extracurricular activities with your husband that are unrelated to children, family and work is a priority.