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People think I must have been turning cartwheels on the night I sealed the movie deal - which was only two days after sealing the book deal - but I was really quite terrified.
Laura Hillenbrand -
I got sick when I was 19, and I'd been a really healthy 19-year-old, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. Does it feel like the pain after you give birth? I don't know.
Laura Hillenbrand
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I had been writing professionally since 1988.
Laura Hillenbrand -
I was starstruck and completely confused; making a film of this story hadn't even occurred to me, and I hadn't written a single line of the book yet. I had no idea how this man knew anything about my book proposal.
Laura Hillenbrand -
I'm attracted to subjects who overcome tremendous suffering and learn to cope emotionally with it.
Laura Hillenbrand -
It only worked for a little while; the morning after I agreed to go with Universal, an article came out in the Hollywood trade papers, and the secret was out.
Laura Hillenbrand -
I am actually in poor health due to chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, and my ability to work is greatly diminished right now, so I have to get better before I can start another big project.
Laura Hillenbrand -
Louie and Seabiscuit were both Californians and both on the sports pages in the 1930s. I was fascinated. When I learned about his World War II experiences, I thought, 'If this guy is still alive, I want to meet him.'
Laura Hillenbrand
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I have to detach myself completely from aspirations. I hardly ever listen to music anymore because it arouses all of this yearning in me.
Laura Hillenbrand -
In terms of writing about horses, I fell backwards into that. I was intent on getting a Ph.D., becoming a professor, and writing on history but I got sick 14 years ago when I was 19. Getting sick derailed that plan completely.
Laura Hillenbrand -
I'm looking for a way out of here. I can't have it physically, so I'm going to have it intellectually. It was a beautiful thing to ride Seabiscuit in my imagination. And it's just fantastic to be there alongside Louie as he's breaking the NCAA mile record. People at these vigorous moments in their lives - it's my way of living vicariously.
Laura Hillenbrand -
For 'Seabiscuit', I interviewed 100 people I never met.
Laura Hillenbrand -
The biggest problem has been exhaustion. I've spent about 6 of the last 14 years completely bedridden.
Laura Hillenbrand -
While it's really hard to do, at the same time, I'm escaping my body, which I really want to do. I'm living someone else's life. I get very intensely into the story, into the interviews and the research. I'm experiencing things along with my subjects. I have a freedom I don't have in my physical life.
Laura Hillenbrand