It's hard to be careful, though, when you feel indestructible.
I hypnotized myself so in my subconscious, I believed I couldn't get hurt. And I don't mean 'believe' - I mean believe believe believe.
There's no experience like going down an empty freeway toward a hurricane and then looking in the opposite lane and seeing bumper-to-bumper traffic, people fleeing that scene. Or going to a toxic spill and seeing people go the other way. You talk yourself into thinking you're invincible in order to do that.
When you're a teenager, you think you're invincible. You don't listen to anyone.
Somehow, in my head, I don't think I'll die. I know that everybody dies, of course. I just think that it'll never come to me. It's crazy, but there it is.
Young people like to think they're invincible. They don't like to face any situation where they've gotten weaker instead of stronger.
I'm a preacher's kid, I'm big-boned, I have giant feet, and I've always been able to run fast, and so I had this sense of, 'I can't fail. I'm invincible. I'm made of green juice and concrete; nothing's gonna happen to me.'
I am Superwoman. I am the author of 15 novels, including one about cancer. I am not, however, someone who 'gets' cancer. I am a sun worshipper who never thought it could happen to me.
I don't think I'm unusual in that, in my 20s, like many people, I felt invincible.
Power-worship blurs political judgment because it leads, almost unavoidably, to the belief that present trends will continue. Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible.
I wasn't a Superman guy - I didn't like the invincible superhero who always wins. Who can get behind someone like that?
