Bankrate: Was Harry an opportunity to try on marriage, an institution with which you wrestled for years in your own life?
Handler: My life was mirrored in the fictional Goldenblatt existence in several ways. I did struggle for years with relationships. My new book tells about my 27 breakups, which were spread over only 10 relationships. But I got married to a non-Jewish, non-American right around the time Charlotte married Harry, and my wife and I had a miraculously conceived baby daughter right around the time Charlotte and Harry did in the film.
Bankrate: You admit you tend to lose your grasp on money when love enters the picture. Has the way you handle your money changed over the years?
Handler: I've gotten a lot more conservative about how to handle money, as I've finally collected a little bit of it. I have no trouble spending it on things I enjoy, though my choices are probably still not as extravagant as others I see driving around L.A. But I'm not much of a high-stakes "investor." I'm a preserver of principal. I hate to see it disappear more than I like to watch it grow.
Bankrate: The role of Charlie in "Californication," a guy with a lot of unresolved baggage, seems written for you. What parts of Charlie do you still relate to, and what parts have you outgrown?
Handler: I very much appreciate the balance that Tom Kapinos, the creator of "Californication," has struck in terms of Charlie's seeming career and monetary success, his apparent sexual deprivation and his resulting inability to resist what might be ill-advised liaisons. I like how, in season one, he's assertive about seeking the experiences he craves, and I like to think I've been a bit smoother in cultivating my own experiences. Now that I'm happily married, I like to think I'm more successfully immunized against some of the traps and pitfalls Charlie gets snared by in season two. But if you've ever thought life would be better if you were sleeping with a porn star, tune in to episode two!
Bankrate: Now that you're a father, you seem to be looking at the cup as half-full rather than mostly empty. Do you think there is a place of peace and happiness for you, or, as an artist, will a part of you always be restless and dissatisfied?
Handler: My history with the "half-empty" vs. "half full" question is somewhat unusual in that I usually just experience the cup as being dirty. But that said, yes, I am a much more satisfied and gratitude-filled being than I have ever been before. I don't know that I'll ever have the highest-wattage smile as my default setting, but I'm very happy to be exactly where I am -- and that is new and quite wonderful.