"To make babies, the bride and groom had to dress up nicely, put flowers in their hair and lie down together on a very big bed. The next thing you knew, many mornings later, there was a little baby crawling between them" (Chapter 4, pg. 33.)

"Sometimes, she said that to be stuck in a harem simply meant that a woman had lost her freedom of movement. Other times, she said that a harem meant misfortune because a woman had to share her husband with many others" (Chapter 4, pg. 34.)

"'The French do not imprison their wives behind walls, my dear mother-in-law,' she would say. 'They let them run wild in the local souk (market), and everyone had fun, and sill the work gets done'" (Chapter 5, pg. 42.)

"Then she would tell me that whatever else I did with my life, I had to take her revenge. 'I want my daughters'...