The slave who dances is free ... while he is dancing.

I am very grateful for the success, because it has given me the freedom to write without pressure, in my own way, and has enabled me to maintain my family and educate my children and grandchildren, as well as to create a Foundation to empower women and girls.

People come from internally, from other places in the United States, but also displaced people from other parts of the world. They come here. If you walk in the streets of San Francisco, you hear all the languages. You smell all the foods. You listen to the music from everywhere. There's great diversity.

Conceit is a privilege of the ignorant; the wise man is humble because he knows how little he knows.

Society decides when we get old. But the spirit never ages.

If I didn't write my soul would dry up and die.

You have the health you deserve.