I'm always most interested in writing about things that I don't understand.

To understand the world, one’s place in it, is to be always at the risk of drowning.

There is a sharp distinction between what is remembered, what is told and what is true.

I can't envision an honest war novel that left war in a positive light.

My personal opinion is that if someone writes honestly about war, it will inherently be anti-war.

It's not just: you get off the plane, you're back home, everything's fine. Maybe the physical danger ends, but soldiers are still deeply at risk of being injured in a different way.

All choices are illusions, or if they are not illusions their strength is illusory, for one choice must contend with the choices of all the other men and women deciding anything in that moment.

As human beings, we have the blessing and the curse that we're able to adapt to almost anything. No matter how extreme the circumstances you're in, they become normal.

Freedom is not the same as lack of accountability.

I understood that 'The Yellow Birds' would be a peculiar representation of the experience of being at war. I intended it to be so.

Joining the military is not to be taken lightly. You're putting every part of yourself at risk, not just your body but your moral and spiritual centre.

Use the darkness of your past to propel you to a brighter future.

Things'll get worse before they get better.

No one is safe from nature's savagery,not even the innocent. Only beauty is consistent. Gabrielle envisions a time when the Savage Garden will overtake civilizations and destroy it.

Selfishness does not mean only to do things for one's self. One may do things, affecting others, for his own pleasure and benefit. This is not immoral, but the highest of morality.

Abstract painting is dead. That's why it has become so interesting again.

Ultimately, every great endeavor consists of many little steps.

In my work, I have never had any use for anything that I have known in advance.

... if you're going to wear a dress like that you need to wear it with confidence. You need to fill it out mentally as well as physically.

Basically, I'm living the life of an actress in L.A. And I've recently had some pretty good fortune.

I firmly believe the world will sort itself out in the end. Believe it with me. At least none of us will be around to be proven wrong.