Asne Seierstad

“Reality is more violent and more absurd than any fiction.”

“A writer writes. There are no rules or color charts. You can do anything you want.”

“What I think is that we in the West have to be aware of the different societies and sub-societies that are part of the West.”

“I am not a war photographer.”

“You live with a family, you see the splits and the dramas and the little things that are meaningful.”

“It's easier to write about a place I've left.”

“I don't think I am a brave person. I am a curious person.”

“My method is to be there, to be present. I try to get as close as I can.”

“Every family has its secrets.”

“When you are a journalist, you are not supposed to be the story.”

“The challenge is to get the person's own voice, their own way of thinking, their own poetry, their own anger, their own fears, their own hopes, and that's the point of the book.”