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What inspired me to work so hard and to maintain my determination was seeing my mother. She was an immigrant and was struggling in America to make it by; that inspired me to work hard.

One of my main wishes in wanting to write about my mother was to explore the impact of her death on my life, explore our relationship, think about the different versions of myself that I was with and without her. I also had the really strong wish to bring her to life for my children, who were born after she was gone.

I wanted to have a personal life that I fully inhabited, not because I am such a great mom, but for me.

My desire, my passion, was to help moms with practical encouragement.

My entire life changed when I became a mother - my priorities, my understanding, appreciation of life, and my relationship with God.

Without a doubt my mother was an inspiration for my writing. This is true in many ways, but mostly because she is a wonderful storyteller, without even knowing it.

My original inspiration was my mom: a few years after the death of my dad, she started dating one my teachers!

My mother's death brought me to my knees. She was my hero, my role model, my very best friend. I spoke to her every single day of my life. I really tried hard when I grew up to make her proud of me.

My mother and I will continue on some level that I haven't determined yet. I think my mother's a great character, and I have to say that giving my mother to the world has to be the biggest thrill of my writing career.

My mother carried on and supported us; her ambition had been to write poetry and songs.