I don't think I'm unusual in that, in my 20s, like many people, I felt invincible.

Every day I have many choices to make about who I want to be.

I think it's the human spirit inside of all of us that has an enormous capacity to survive.

The road to recovery will not always be easy, but I will take it one day at a time, focusing on the moments I've dreamed about for so long.

I'm afraid of elevators, because they are an enclosed space, but I get in.

Contemplating Christmas when you are isolated and far from home brings its own unique pain.

Christmas was the one time of year when my brothers surfaced at home, when my parents and grandparents congregated to eat my mother's roast turkey.

Getting on a plane is hard for me, but I do it, because travel is vital to me.

I've realized that the world is, in essence, full of banana peels - loaded with things that may unwittingly trip an internal wire in my mind, opening a floodgate of fears without warning.

I used my captors names every chance I had. It was intentional, a way of reminding them that I saw them, of pegging them, of making them see me in return.

Forgiving is not an easy thing to do.

A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.

A lot of sequins for New Year's! Red, green, white - I fail at all of that because I'm always in black. But for Christmas, I do love wearing cute dresses with tights and a pair of boots.

No matter where I travel, I make sure to carry a Vaseline body lotion with me to keep my skin well moisturised all the time.

Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?

All I know about what people think of my gear is what a couple of my friends tell me, and one of them always wants to borrow money, so I'm not sure how reliable he is.

To play well, you need good players, but a good player almost always has the problem of a lack of efficiency. He always wants to do things prettier than strictly necessary.

Edith Piaf knocked my socks off when I was 8, but I didn't know what she was singing about.

No one can have two viewpoints about terrorism. There is no religion of terrorism. I am often asked my viewpoint on this, maybe because i am very proud to be a Muslim

Writers have a rare power not given to anyone else: we can bore people long after we are dead.

Your faith is very important. I have done the math, and you are going to be dead a whole lot longer that you will be alive.