If you spell my name backwards, it turns into Anas, which is my brother’s name!

When I bought my previous house, it came with two outdoor cats. We named them Otto and Chloe.

I love nicknames and the special people in my life each have a nickname from me. Example: my sister Halima is often called Ima or Leems by me.

I have lived in many cities and towns including Lahore (Pakistan), Bern (Switzerland), Paris (France) and the following in the US: Lancaster, New York, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Chicago, Palo Alto and Danville.

My best friend who I met on my first day of college lives in India. Each year, we pick a different part of the world and meet up.

A career counselor once told me to give up writing based on his own experience of writing a book, which was rusting away in his closet. I didn’t give up writing and the fear of my creative work rotting made me send it out into the world over and over again.

In my high school, it was mandatory for us to go skiing/snowboarding every Friday for almost three full months in the winter.

I dislike watching TV and have a lot of catching up to do on movies!

I moved to Switzerland from Pakistan when I was 13 years old.

I have learned a lot about being a kind person from my son and a lot about being fiercely independent from my daughter.