Matthew LaFerla

“People were so quick to point at all those inspiring stories of catharsis, completely ignoring the fact that the vast majority of the broken never beat their demons, that the drunkard’s son stayed with the bottle, the war widow never conquered her loneliness, and the defiled child never wiped that imagined black stain from their soul. Because in a world that worshipped the victorious, who the hell wanted to hear about the defeated?”
― Nicolas Lietzau, Dreams of the Dying

“Emotion is a powerful rethorical tool, but only when used judiciously. Calculated anger can be terrifying. Tantrums and hsyteria are pathetic.”
― Nicolas Lietzau, Dreams of the Dying

“There is a myth that soldiers aren’t afraid when they charge into battle. It’s a lie: the fear is always there, worming through the pits of their stomachs and crawling over their shaking hands. Life or death depends on their ability to kill this fear and let that other beast take over, the one that fought, the one that maimed, the one that turned green boys into killers. The one that survived.”
― Nicolas Lietzau, Dreams of the Dying

“My point is, all these discussions about good and evil, where do they ever lead? A man is dead, and three children were orphaned. No amount of moral judgment and labeling will change that. Instead, we should ask ourselves what factors led to this situation and then work on improving those. Cause and effect, that’s all that matters.”
― Nicolas Lietzau, Dreams of the Dying