My passion has always been books and literature, and teaching.

For more than 30 years the Islamic regime and its apologists have tried to dismiss women's struggle in Iran as part of a western ploy.

Only curiosity about the fate of others, the ability to put ourselves in their shoes, and the will to enter their world through the magic of imagination, creates this shock of recognition. Without this empathy there can be no genuine dialogue, and we as individuals and nations will remain isolated and alien, segregated and fragmented.

The more we die, the stronger we will become

The reason I am so popular is that I give others back what they need to find in themselves. You need me not because I tell you what I want you to do but because I articulate and justify what you want to do.

The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.

When I first left Iran at the age of 13, Iran had become such a shining star - it was the point to which all my desires and dreams returned.