“I wasn't a major in political science for nothing, so I understood the politics of beauty and the politics of race when it comes to the fashion industry.”

“The difference between rearing a child in your 20s and one in your 50s is one of patience.”

“Intelligence is sexy. Don't play dumb, especially young girls. Don't play dumb. And let people see that you are intelligent.”

“My mother was an activist so was my father. They came from a generation of young Somalis who were actively involved in getting independence for Somalia in 1960. ”

“There is no age better than another. The commitment to give of yourself and the knowledge that the time is right are what's important.”

“On my 50th birthday in 2005, my discount-wielding AARP card came in the mail. I hurled it in the trash, put on something fabulous, and had a decadent meal. Just the thought of putting it in my wall...”

“He had a charm about him sometimes, a warmth that was irresistible, like sunshine. He planted Saffy triumphantly on the pavement, opened the taxi door, slung in his bag, gave a huge film-star wave,...”

“He promised us that everything would be okay. I was a child, but I knew that everything would not be okay. That did not make my father a liar. It made him my father.”

“1. I think what haunts many people in the world is to lose something they love, something they value, and someone they care for, for me it was my father, I was losing him when I met him. I felt lif...”

“There are many things that make a man irritable when he arrives home from work in the evening and a sensible wife will usually notice the storm-signals and will leave him alone until he simmers down.”

“Oblivion, she thought. That was the world she lived in. It was what they should name some countries, towns, and places.”

“A lot of men wouldn't like being called a romantic. It's not macho enough.'Quite often men are fools.”

“I am the perfect version of me.”

“But if you tame me, then weshall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, Ishall be unique in all the world.”

“I don't want the world to keep turning without me on it.”