She is afraid of crumbling and disappearing, of being taken and being left behind at the same time: a body tumbling between hands while dying inside. - Maaza Mengiste

What is war? You send soldiers out and, although nobody wants to say it, you know a certain number will be killed, and you hope there will be fewer than the casualties on the other side. War is dealing with human beings as objects. (2017)

It was not until a revolution tore my country apart that I began to understand how war could render decent people unrecognisable. Only when I had felt real terror did I begin to comprehend the many ways that conflict can devour us without spilling a drop of blood. (2020)

part of what I’ve realized with this [second] book is that creativity is always about running against and into yourself. In every way. (2017)