Quote

My father was a chemist on the Yale faculty, my mother a housewife.

My father was a world-class scientist and my mother was a prolific painter. I could see that my parents had completely different ways of knowing and understanding the world, and relating to it. My father approached things through scientific inquiry and exploration, while my mother experienced things through her emotions and senses.

My parents, once I made it clear to them that I wanted to do science, they were totally sympathetic.

I grew up watching my father work, and learning from him what good quality is. I took from him the passion to create beautiful and exclusive products. He also taught me to persevere if I want to reach my goals.

I went to college because my father thought that I should learn engineering, because he wanted to go into the heating business with me. There, I realized I wanted to be a physicist. I had to tell him, which was a somewhat traumatic experience.

My dad taught me everything. It's been fun walking in his footsteps. He played for his whole life and traveled the country and had a great career. He taught me everything about life and playing golf and how to act. Just everything. I learned so much from him and those days hanging around the driving range.

I grew up in a home and in a world in which you can do anything. We were all expected to go to college. My father was a doctor.

My parents had a strong impact on who I am today. My mother and dad both encouraged us to think about the long term - where you wanted to be - to think about education, to think about what is right and what is wrong, and to do things that will help you in the long run.

When I was in college at Carnegie Mellon, I wanted to be a chemist. So I became one. I worked in a laboratory and went to graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. Then I taught science at a private girls' school. I had three children and waited until all three were in school before I started writing.