Advice compiled and condensed from actual sources by Kelly Jane Torrance, who composed the questions.
Who knew that winning my field’s highest honor could bring with it so much trouble? I won the best-actor Oscar this past weekend - and didn’t thank my wife. People really noticed, because she’s in the business, too. Maybe I made a big mistake. Hilary Swank didn’t thank her spouse when she won an Oscar, and the marriage didn’t last. I’m really in the doghouse right now - it doesn’t help that this comes after our brief separation last year. I told people I didn’t have time to mention her, but I did manage to give a shout-out to a bunch of friends. Still, she knows how I feel about her, so why should I have to say thanks?
- Sean Penn
Dear Sean,
I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
- G. K. Chesterton
I just signed a contract with Crown Publishers to write three books, two about my childhood, the other about my years in the White House. I’m a little nervous about my decision. I was one of the most private people in the last administration, keeping to myself while friends and foes speculated on my personal and professional life. I’m a bit reticent to reveal too much about either, even now. I’m an educated woman and don’t feel ready to retire the life of the mind quite yet, but should I really have agreed to a book deal?
- Condoleezza Rice
Dear Condoleezza,
Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
I’m being taken to court - but I feel like I’m being taken to the cleaners. I lost an expensive ring in Amnesty International. Apparently, I’m the only do-gooder in this case - he’s suing me for the full amount. Doesn’t anyone do a good deed just for the sake of a good deed anymore?
- Bianca Jagger
Dear Bianca,
We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them.
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld
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