In my experience, ghosts are made up only of the living, people you know are out there but are forever out of range

I'd known that the visit would be highly scripted and that genuine interactions with citizens wouldn't be possible, since it's illegal for them to speak with foreigners. Still, I'd thought I'd had a unique look at North Korea, only to discover I was wrong.

Orphans are the only ones who get to choose their fathers, and they love them twice as much.

What good's a captive without her captor?

I know it really sounds cheesy, but I did feel a duty to try to tell the stories of people who couldn't speak for themselves.

The darkness inside your head is something your imagination fills with stories that have nothing to do with the real darkness around you.

All the lessons you need to learn in life, he said, will be taught to you by your enemy.