I Think Of Every Book As A

As A Shy, Introverted, Scholarly Child (long Ago) I Don't Know What I Would Have Done Without Libraries! My Family Moved Often. I Was Always The New Kid In Town. The Library Always Offered Me My First And Most Important Friendship: The Place Where I Felt Right At Home. I Still Feel That Way Today, About Libraries.

I Make Up The Characters In My Books, But Of Course My Consciousness Is Filled With Every Child I've Ever Known, Including My Two Grandchildren, My Own Kids (i Had Four) And Especially Myself As A Child, Because That Person Still Lives Inside Me, Too.

I've Always Been Interested In Medicine And Was Pleased When My Brother Became A Doctor. But After Thinking Seriously About That Field, I Realized That What Intrigued Me Was Not The Science, Not The Chemistry Or Biology Of Medicine, But The Narrative - The Story Of Each Patient, Each Illness.

The Fact That I Lost My Son Permeates My Being.

Because Of Fear, They Made Shelter And Found Food And Grew Things. For The Same Reason, Weapons Were Stored, Waiting.