"When I was young, my father used to say, ‘If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.’ I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn’t know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive."

You may also like:

• 

  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  Writer

• 

  Dave Eggers
  Writer

• 

  Dinaw Mengestu
  Novelist

• 

  Emmanuel Jal
  Musician

• 

  Greg Mortenson
  Humanitarian

• 

  Ishmael
  

• 

  Jeannette Walls
  Writer

• 

  Khaled Hosseini
  Novelist

• 

  Sherman Alexie
  Poet