And yet there are some magnificent things from Freud, profound insights into the nature of man.

If I had a plot that was all set in advance, why would I want go through the agony of writing the novel? A novel is a kind of exploration and discovery, for me at any rate.

I think the hardest part of writing is revising. And by that I mean the following: A novelist has to create the piece of marble and then chip away to find the figure in it.

I think that to a very great extent we are partners with the divine in this enterprise called history. That is an ongoing relationship, and there is absolutely no guarantee that things will automatically work out to our best advantage.

Well, I took a sabbatical. I walked away from shooting movies because I couldn't handle the travel. I'm a single parent. I had young kids, and I found that keeping in touch with them from hotel rooms and airports wasn't working for me. So I stopped.

I don't know exactly where my life will lead. Adventure and the unknown has always been appealing to me.

I'm not interested in going and doing a big, action-adventure romp with nothing to say about being a human being.

Travel is a new experience that can transport you out of your everyday routine to create memories with the ones you love.