I think that through the narratives of other people you get closer to your own.

I think every person has a unique story to tell and we each have the different life events that happen to us and sometimes we may feel sympathetic toward a certain aspect of that life event.

For me, the more I understand the story of others, the greater I am able to learn and help other people.

All throughout my work, even in the United States, I have worked with the greater Cambodian community.

Often when people tell their story, they talk about their strengths and resiliency. It's really about their determination and their aspiration to survive and live.

Sometimes I fantasize about learning to write in Khmer. Because if I could write in Khmer, my perspective would be very different, because I'm both an outsider and insider and I see the writing in a different way. My description would be different from, say, a local writer.

I think that there are certain feelings and things you can convey in a simple form that people can see and understand.