At first the weight of loss was thrust upon me so harshly I could only take a short breath, just enough to endure the next few seconds, only to find I must inhale again. Every person in turmoil thinks the boulder on her chest will never lift. Yet the same boulder awakens an equally strong urge to live.

— Thanhha Lai

Being stubborn won't make you fluent. Practicing will! The more mistakes you make, the more you'll learn not to.

— Thanhha Lai

I'm trying to tell Missions Washington about our ceremony for Father. But it takes time to match every noun and verb, sort all the tenses, remember all the articles, set the tone for every s. MiSSSisss Washington says if every learner waits to speak perfectly, no one would learn anew language. Being stubborn won't make you fluent. Practicing will! The more mistakes you make, the more you'll learn not to. They laugh.

— Thanhha Lai

I tell you of loss, my child, so you will listen, slowly, and know that in life every emotion is fated to rear itself within your being. Don't judge it proper or ugly. It's simply there and yours. When you should happen to cry, then cry, knowing that just as easily you will laugh again and cry again. Your feelings will enter the currents of your core and there they shall remain

— Thanhha Lai

No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama."-Inside Out and Back Again

— Thanhha Lai