The style will be very interactive, ... I don't like lecturing; I'd rather run a discussion on questions by other people.

Life is messy; it's not linear, it's not logical, and the book reflects that.

It is at once both foreign and familiar, ... It is a delicious work; very sensual. You can feel the weather and the smells and the food.

One of the themes is how is it we cope with trials and tribulations? How do we endure struggles and come out differently? ... The book has been criticized for being messy, and it is messy in many ways, with loose ends and stories that don't tie up neatly. But why do we need to impose expectations?

Stories matter and need to be heard, ... I ask my students after they've read a book, 'do you feel enlarged? Have you grown from it?' which is the same thing I ask myself. I'm not going to impose anything on anyone; I just want to remind people of the power of storytelling.