I was thinking, there are 5 million people, and I am just one of those 5 million. In the build-up to the war you see children playing in the street, and you think, ah, I'm going to be okay.

When I decided to stay in Iraq, I decided to take the fear out of my body and put it into a freezer.

If I leave, reality will devour me. Then they will all really be dead.

The judgment means a lot. As a journalist being accused of invading someone's privacy, there is always a risk that it will stick to your name.

If we can't understand the Afghan family, we can't understand Afghanistan.

As a woman, you accept the situation, adapt to it, and do your best, whereas men would choose violence.

If I lose, then I have to accept that my way of writing books is not the way society says it's okay to write.