My name is Thomas Gibson.
I'm a journalist at the New York Times.
I served in the Marine Corps as an infantryman.
When it comes to reporting on the front line,
I think nothing is more important than talking to the people involved,
you know, hearing their stories and being able to connect that with people thousands of miles away.
Anything that can make something like this more personal, I think is well worth the risk.
New York Times subscribers make it possible for us to keep doing this vital coverage.
If you'd like to subscribe, you can do that at nytimes.com slash subscribe.
I'm going monk mode.
That's what I'm calling it when I need to finish this book.
So you're embracing celibacy?
No, I'm locking myself in an Airbnb and I'm writing 14 hours a day.
And now that's actually the premise of The Shining, the Stephen King novel.
So how is it working out for you?
It's not great.
Are you seeing any rivers of blood flowing down the hallways yet?
Red rum.
But no, it's going well.
I'm in the home stretch now.