“I need to feel as if everything is clean and in its proper place befor...” — Said Sayrafiezadeh Quote

“I need to feel as if everything is clean and in its proper place before I can even attempt to write one word. At least, that's what I tell myself. I make the bed, I put away the dishes, maybe I dust, maybe I do the laundry, maybe I go to the post office.”

“I have to expend an awful lot of energy actively undoing the impact of my name. Understandably, people assume that I have at least some connection to Iran. The truth is that I don't. I have very little knowledge about the culture, the language, the history. I've never been to Iran. I've never even been inside a mosque.”

“I buy smoked mackerel in a vain attempt at being healthy. I do actually really like it, and you don't have to cook it, which is handy.”

“When I was about 15... I made my first attempt as a leading lady, and was, of course, a complete failure.”

“It is true that Egypt's attempt at democracy after the 2011 revolution encountered many obstacles in governance and infrastructure.”