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I do a lot of writing about my family.

Well, I've had to deal with everything in my life... leavin' the family, learnin' what not and what to do.

My family keeps me sane. I try to talk to my mum every other day. After I get off the phone, I have a renewed sense of clarity, so I guess a problem shared is a problem lost. It's important to me to keep them close.

No one in my family wrote. And there was no real introduction. I suppose I somehow blundered into it when I was about six or seven years old. I was asked what present I would like, and, without knowing why, I responded that I would like a journal. It was a beautiful journal - so beautiful that I didn't want to sully it.

Looking back, I see that I write books about brothers and sisters, about what makes up a family, what works and what is nurturing.

I've always been a journal-keeper. I've always tried to write about how I'm experiencing life, and my feelings and thoughts.

I've learned it's really important to work hard and keep your family and friends close. You've got to let them know how much you appreciate them for sticking by you.

I have a really big family, and pretty much all my work is about my brothers and sisters. I'm the youngest of eight - my mom had seven kids in seven years, and then she had me 11 years later - so I was basically raised by all these teenagers.

I've had a family my entire adult life; I started raising kids when I was 21. I suspect that being part of a family has probably informed my life as a writer as much as anything else has.

My family is out of the ordinary in our physical lifestyle and the day-to-day things that we deal with, but my approach to them is pretty rational and sound. And I'm the quiet one! It's very different from my performing life.