I had several near death experiences or very, you know, close calls, if you may, in Iraq. You know, there was an incident where I was nearly kidnapped.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I haven't personally in my real life had many people close to me die, but my characters have, and I've had to live that as though it's real. And it can take a really big emotional toll on someone.
I have experienced a murderer among my friends. Many, many years ago. At close range I have seen the impact of it. I knew the victim, I went to the funeral, I have been to the house, to the specific room where the killing took place, and I was stunned by it. It's such a blow.
Death is very mysterious to us. One moment someone is there with us, and the next moment they're not.
I saw a great many men die afterwards, some suffering horribly, but I do not recall any death that affected me quite so much as that of this first victim in my platoon.
I was a high school senior and home alone one night with my younger brother. And a guy - gunman - kicked in our front door at our home in New Jersey and held the two of us captive. We escaped. He caught us again. We escaped again. So, a pretty horrific experience.
Death has always had a prominent place in my mind. There are times when I think somebody might kill me.
I think most of us who live into our 50s have had a few experiences with death. You know, we see people we know start to die. We realize it's getting closer and closer for us.
As a neurosurgeon, I did not believe in the phenomenon of near-death experiences.
I've spent my life visiting a handful of people who are very close to me when they've been committed to one hospital or another in New York.
I had one relative who passed away but fortunately none others. So my sort of experience of it is quite limited, thankfully.