I spent five years of my youth in prison - some very bad prisons.

A lot of times, when I met somebody and took them out on a date, I obviously didn't tell them my background, because I didn't think I'd see them but once or twice.

If I check into a hotel, a lot of times, they know who I am.

I owe a debt to my country 800 times greater than I could ever repay.

I was born in Edinburgh, in Scotland, a few days after the end of the Second World War. Both my parents had left school at a very young age, unwillingly in my father's case. Yet both had deep effects on my education, my father influencing me toward measurement and mathematics, and my mother toward writing and history.

The family is the foundation of everything.

Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that's not always a biological parent or family member. It may be a friend or neighbor. Often times it is a teacher.

In the French culture, they talk politics. I didn't find it was part of our culture to have political arguments at the table. My husband's family will get into major politics, and it's not an aggressive thing. It's so interesting and you learn so much, whether it's Right or Left, and that to me has been really great.