America's relationship with Haiti has always been very complicated. I often say to people, "Before we came to America, America came to us in the form of the American occupation from 1915 to 1934."

There [Haiti] were also leaders like Jean-Jacques Dessalines, whose motto was, "Cut their heads off, burn their houses."

That has always been a strength of Haiti: Beyond crisis, it has beautiful art; it has beautiful music. But people have not heard about those as much as they heard about the coups and so forth. I always hope that the people who read me will want to learn more about Haiti.

Vodou is one of the religions practiced in Haiti, a rich religion for the people.

I think it's hard to write a book about happiness because fiction requires tension and complication.

When you write ,it's like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring then unity.

For the majority of the people it is a difficult place to live. That's a reality that we can't ignore. But there is also great beauty to it.