“I was sort of in denial about doing country for awhile but I sort of grew up and realized who I was, what I wanted to say. I think country music is the best music in the world and I'm glad to be doing a country album. I hope people will love it as much as I loved making it.”

“I try to give people hope. Even though life is bleak, there's hope out there.”

“I hope we never get to the point that we put ourselves in Jesus' place. But when I read the New Testament basically, we get three mandates: to love God, to love each other, and to take care of the least among us. And I think this is at least a step in the right direction.”

“In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write.”

“One of my favorite people is Gypsy Rose Lee. She bears out the Biblical promise that he who has, gets. And I hope she gets a lot more.”

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

“And God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he's no longer God... They'll turn on him, and I hope he survives it.”

“It is natural to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes to that siren until she allures us to our death.”

“Well, I've been reading a lot about the fifty years since the Second World War, about Western foreign policy and all that. I try not to let it get to me, but sometimes I just think that there's no hope.”