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.

I think there is something to be said for what you can do when you don't know what you aren't supposed to be able to do.