The same men who are placing all these outrageous restrictions on women’s freedoms in southern Somalia – that type of mentality – that’s what I had to deal with in captivity.

Forgiving is not an easy thing to do.

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

A little goes a long way in Somalia: $5 will feed a person there for about two weeks.

Because that’s the thing about the exact moment when you get somewhere that has required effort: There’s a freeze-frame instant of total fulfillment, when every expectation has been met and the world is perfect.

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

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