I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us.

You’re not going to cry, are you? - I am not going to cry! Not over you. Not in a thousand years.

Baba dropped the stack of food stamps on her desk. "Thank you but I don't want," Baba said. "I work always. In Afghanistan I work, in America I work. Thank you very much, Mrs. Dobbins, but I don't like it free money."...Baba walked out of the welfare office like a man cured of a tumor.

Writing for me is largely about rewriting.

The country [Afghanistan] faces enormous problems. There is a violent insurgency hampering the rule of law and developmental efforts.

I did see [in Afghanistan] plenty that reminded me of my childhood. I recognised my old neighbourhood, saw my old school, streets where I had played with my brother and cousins.

I now know that some people feel unhappiness the way others love: privately, intensely, and without recourse.