In the acknowledgements of her haunting yet heroic autobiography Infidel, secular activist and ex-Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali thanks several people who helped her to survive the brutal Islamic and tribalist cultures from which she was raised in Africa and Saudi Arabia. But the people who likely helped her most are those she never met, specifically authors from Emily Bronte to George Orwell to Danielle Steel.
Read MoreIn her autobiography Infidel, secular activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes about the life-saving impact Western novels had on her while growing up in Africa and Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Joseph Kellard)