There's A Certain Nostalgia And Romance In

I Grew Up In Seattle, But I Always Knew I Wanted To Leave.

Time Made Me Change. I Gradually Woke Up To The Realization That This Is Who I Am, An Author, A Public Figure, And I Couldn't Just Hide In My Study, Tapping Away At The Keyboard And Pretend That I Didn't Have A Role To Play Beyond Stringing Words Together.

The Status Quo Was Rote Memorization And Recitation In Classrooms Thronged With Passive Children Who Were Sternly Disciplined When They Expressed Individual Needs.

None Of Those Other Things Makes A Difference. Love Is The Strongest Thing In The World, You Know. Nothing Can Touch It. Nothing Comes Close. If We Love Each Other We're Safe From It All. Love Is The Biggest Thing There Is.

Even Though I May Not Intend It When I Set Out To Write The Book, These Places Just Emerge As Major Players In What I'm Doing, Almost As If They Are Insisting On It.