In late 2009, I returned to Baghdad after a lengthy absence. I was living alone, in the Hamra Hotel, the twice bombed-out de facto international news bureau.

It's amazing living alone. I'm very lucky. It's like a refuge.

Living alone makes it harder to find someone to blame.

If there's anything worse than a woman living alone, it's a woman saying she likes it.

I am convinced that living in an enclave shapes the personality, and living alone shapes the personality too.

I really hadn't written anything for nearly 15 years, ... I've been pretty much living alone, and I can take an entire house and make music in it and not bother anybody.