“I went to bed feeling melancholy, wishing I could havepoured out all my fears and insecurities to my mom. Wasn’tthat what normal mothers and daughters did?”

“I do not know what happened with your parents or why they did what they did. But in all the world, I could have wished for no daughter but you.”

“For that entire journey across the rough terrain of Afghanistan, I never stopped praying that everything of the world could be peaceful, that all lives might return to normal. I believe that wish is universal for every woman who is a mother.For all the horrible happenings that have occurred since I left Afghanistan, I can only think and feel with my mother's heart. For every child lost, a mother's heart harbors the deepest pain. None can see our sons grow to men. None can see our daughters become mothers. No longer can we see the smiles on their faces, or wipe away their tears. My mother's heart feels the pain of every loss, weeping not only for my children, but for the lost children of every mother.”

“Once, I was my mother's daughter. Now I am my daughter's mother.”

“I needed my daughter to disappear from my sight. If I could have had a wish, I would have wished her away.”

“Some days I woke up and got out of bed and brushed my teeth like any normal human being; some days I woke up and lay in bed and looked at the ceiling and wondered what the hell the point was of getting out of bed and brushing my teeth like any normal human being.”