"When you start about family, about lineage and ancestry, you are talking about every person on earth."

"My fondest hope is that 'Roots' may start black, white, brown, red, yellow people digging back for their own roots. Man, that would make me feel 90 feet tall."

"Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help."

"In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it."

"Parents need all the help they can get. The strongest as well as the most fragile family requires a vital network of social supports."

"A father's disappointment can be a very powerful tool."

"Creating a meal for my friends and family, sitting together, eating, laughing and talking - that is when I am so happy. Oh my God, if you could see how much food I make - I am the original Jewish mother."

"Family and moral values are so central to everything that I am."