The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading A Catcher in the Rye.

When I returned home that day, I saw my life as if I already knew the happy ending of a story. I looked around the house and thought, soon I will no longer have to see these walls and all the unhappiness they keep inside.

There's no hope. There's no reason to keep trying. Because you must. This is not hope. Not reason. This is your fate. This is your life, what you must do.

In [writing] fiction, every sentence is its own reward.

I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?

My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A's from the time I was in kindergarten.

All these years I kept my true nature hidden, running along like a small shadow so nobody could catch me. -Ying Ying