Life was neither something you defended by hiding nor surrendered calmly on other people's terms, but something you lived bravely, out in the open, and that if you had to lose it, you should lose it on your own terms.

The more practice you have, the less stressful writing is.

In Haiti you had the Duvaliers for 29 years and they were very well supported by the United States.

I can't wait for both my daughters to be old enough to read all my books. I loved it every time I saw my parents acting like more than just my parents. And I'm looking forward to that with my daughters too. I am looking forward to having them discover me as someone completely other than their mother.

And the fact that Haiti was occupied for 19 years by the United States, from 1915 to 1934.

Being a shy child, I always longed for a mask. Even in my adult life, I have glasses, they are my mask.

I love the process of cracking the spine for the first time and slowly sinking into a book. That will soon seem old-fashioned, I'm sure, like the time of illuminated manuscripts.