I never had time to think about my beliefs until my 28-year-old daughter Paula fell ill. She was in a coma for a year, and I took care of her at home until she died in my arms in December of 1992.

I was there the night John Lennon was shot, three blocks away. It left a lasting impression on me.

A lot of electronic music out there feels cold. I want to incorporate a human element.

We're not supposed to outlive our children. It goes against nature's plan of things.

Living in a community with very wounded people, I came to see that I had lived most of my life as a tightrope artist trying to walk on a high, thin cable from one tower to the other, always waiting for the applause when I had not fallen off and broken my leg.

I have suffered most of the things I write about - or my friends have.

I chose to present myself as one who comes from among the people, and I can be touched by their pain because I have my own.

We talk about touching our guys in a personal way, knowing that we all want to play basketball and coach basketball, but our guys are dealing with stuff and we want to make sure we are sensitive to that.

Suffering, if it is accepted together, borne together, is joy.

People with handicaps teach me that being is more important than doing, the heart is more important than the mind, and caring together is better than caring alone.

A woman's pity often opens the door to love.

In my great melancholy, I loved life, for I love my melancholy.