Pamela Druckerman

The French talk about education, the education of their children. They don't talk about raising kids. They talk about education. And that has nothing to do with school. It's this kind of broad description of how you raise children and what you teach them.

In the English books, the American kids' books, typically, there is a problem, the characters grapple with that problem, and the problem is resolved.

This idea - that the only way to mend the relationship post-affair is through therapy - is unique to the American script.

The French view is really one of balance, I think... What French women would tell me over and over is, it's very important that no part of your life - not being a mom, not being a worker, not being a wife - overwhelms the other part.

French children seem to be able to play by themselves in a way.

I'm not an early adopter. I'll only start wearing new styles of clothing once they're practically out of date, and I won't move into a neighborhood until it's fully saturated with upscale coffee shops.