It's really hard when you read literature in a language that's not your own. There are all these cultural references you have to be born into that particular language to get.

Some people have witnessed the killing of their husbands, or they survived other horrific things. My sister is a widow but her husband was killed after the Khmer Rouge. There are different periods in which violence has occurred, and differences in how these women became widowed and how they survived afterwards.

I have a great advantage: I write from the perspective of my own voice. I'm not copying anyone's voice. It's my voice. I have the advantage of being a writer of English as a second language.

You have to experiment with different mediums and things around you [making art].

I am a community social psychologist and a lot of my work deals with social work and helping people overcoming addiction and trauma.

I think there are things I can't write in English that I wish I could write in Khmer.

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