When my dad needed a shirt ironed, he would yell downstairs to my mother, who would drop everything and iron his shirt.

I haven't frequented a nail salon in a long time.

I would do 'American Splendor' and 'About Schmidt' again in a heartbeat.

I'm not really high-strung now, but I was a very high-strung child.

I love stories that give me a perspective on how easy American life has become in the 21st century.

I'm not at a point in my life when I'm analyzing too much.

You know how a lot of people say they could go crazy? Well, I feel I live very close to that line.

Storytelling is what lights my fire.

I travel all the time, and I have two small children.

I like to work. I enjoy once a year, doing a film.

I feel like I'm one of the happiest people I know.

I've seen a lot of the United States, having stayed in so many different cities and towns for work. It's such a strange and fascinating country, and instead of learning about it through a textbook, I would rather discover its history and traditions and institutions through fiction and nonfiction writers.

I just love to make a whole roomful of people laugh.

There's nothing I love more than a good cry.

I'm a New Yorker, and I rarely get to work at home.

Every summer my husband and I pack our suitcases, load our kids into the car, and drive from tense, crowded New York City to my family's cottage in Maine. It's on an island, with stretches of sea and sandy beaches, rocky coasts, and pine trees. We barbecue, swim, lie around, and try to do nothing.