Zadie Smith

And so my mother went to the public school, told them her situation.

They agreed to enroll her.

They gave her a uniform, and apparently my grandmother was furious at this, but my mother went.

So that kind of will.

It's pretty extraordinary.

But that's the background she came from.

And my father, he also, they both had missing fathers, so there were no fathers in either case.

And it was extreme poverty, so he left school when he was 12.

And he also felt very resentful about the lack of education.

He was a very smart man, I think, but he never got a chance to be formally educated the way I have been.

That is a good question.

I guess from my mother, just the power of will.

She gave that to all of us.

It's not easy living in a house with two willful women.

But, you know, the thing about my mother, which I actually really appreciate, and I only appreciate it by...

comparison now with what I understand some people feel about their mothers.

My mother was in no way neurotic.

There were no crazy diets or anxiety.

My mother, from the very beginning, has always considered herself to be a tremendous person.

She thinks she's beautiful.