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The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is also an essayist, fiction writer, painter, and mother of four. In her new memoir, Composed (Penguin), she writes the lyrics to her life in music.
IF I COULD SAY ONE THING TO MYSELF 20 YEARS AGO
Don't blame anyone else for anything that you feel, or anything that happens to you.
MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WORLD
Near the ocean.
THE LESSON I KEEP LEARNING OVER AND OVER
Don't Judge another person's behavior. I have no idea what led to that behavior, or what sort of life informs it.
THE MOVIE I WATCH WHEN I WANT TO LAUGH
The Hangover. (I like adolescent boy humor.)
UNHEALTHIEST THING I'VE EVER PASSED OFF AS DINNER
Popcorn and a cupcake.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
Don't judge, don't blame, never give up.
WHAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT...
Worrying about my kids.
BOOK THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
Rainer Maria Rilke's
Letters to a Young Poet.
I UNWIND BY...
Reading, cooking, watching
Pride and Prejudice, meeting friends for lunch.
I FEEL HEALTHY WHEN I...
Walk a mile.
I DEFINE "DOWNTIME" AS...
Time I'm in my own home [in New York City].
COFFEE OR TEA?
Tea! Made in a porcelain pot, with loose leaves. A pot in the morning, a cup in the afternoon. I am quite obsessive about tea.
GUILTIEST PLEASURE
I don't harbor guilt, at least not about pleasure. But I do love goofy romantic comedies and cake.
THE LAST TIME I LOST MY TEMPER WAS
Probably in an airport.
I'M CURRENTLY READING
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
WHOLE LIVING MEANS...
Something different for everyone. For me, I have to work a lot, and I have to spend time by the ocean every few months to feel whole.
HOME MEANS...
Where my husband is.
PRIZED POSSESSION
My kids' artwork.
EXERCISE ROUTINE...
Walking and stretching. That's all.
PROUDEST MOMENT IN MY CAREER
Always the next moment, the next song, the next show.
MY MOM WAS RIGHT ABOUT...
Keeping a tidy home.
MY MOM WAS WRONG ABOUT...
Not trusting people.
MY DAD ALWAYS TOLD ME...
Choose love.
