“write with honesty and don't worry about the feelings of others, because no matter what you say, they'll hate you anyway.”

“Writing is like making love. Don't worry about the orgasm, just concentrate on the process.”

“If what you want is the effect of painting, then paint, Aurora. If what you want is truth, learn to use your camera," he would say again and again”

“Write what should not be forgotten.”

“My father says that fear is good; it's the body's alarm system, it warns us of danger. But sometimes danger can't be avoided, and then you have to forget about being afraid.”

“I learned very quickly that when you emigrate, you lose the crutches that have been your support; you must begin from zero, because the past is erased with a single stroke and no one cares where you’re from or what you did before.”

“As I travel through life, I gather experiences that lie imprinted on the deepest strata of memory, and there they ferment, are transformed, and sometimes rise to the surface and sprout like strange plants from other worlds. What is the fertile humus of the subconscious composed of? Why are certain images converted into recurrent themes in nightmares or writing?”