I went to Saudi Arabia in 2010, and spent most of my time in Jeddah and the King Abdullah Economic City.

We would oppose the turning of the planet and refuse the setting of the sun.

Nonfiction narratives are really powerful and valid in themselves. But one thing that you don't get sometimes from the more clinical or academic books or nonfiction books is that you don't get to hear the person's voice; you don't get them as individuals. You get a few quotes and you hear them as sort of a case study: numbers, examples, anecdotes, maybe a paragraph here, and that's about it.

I had the sensation that I might always be running like this, that I would always have to run, and that I would always be able to run.

All I ever wanted was to know what to do.

Suffering is only suffering if it’s done in silence, in solitude. Pain experienced in public, in view of loving millions, was no longer pain. It was communion.

The key thing is managed awareness of your role in the world and history. Think too much and you know you are nothing. Think just enough and you know you are small, but important to some. That's the best you can do.