'Wild and Eat, Pray, Love have taught me how human it is to make mistakes': Hafsa Qadeer

The marketing whiz and travel blogger on the books that inspired her

What are you reading now?
Currently, I am reading The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy, Start With Why by Simon Sinek and re-reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.
What are the books that changed your life and shaped your outlook?
Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert had a strong impact on me. These books have taught me how human it is to make mistakes, how loving myself should always be my priority and how important it is to know that it's never ever too late to start all over again.
Most memorable literary character (and why)?
I adore Ella Rubenstein from The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak. Ella is a simple woman who goes through a powerful transformation by opening her heart and mind to the concept of love.
A book that you think is underrated (and why)?
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors that documents the events of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571's crash into the Andes mountains. With the popular film version, the original book isn't read as frequently as it should, but it's a truly gripping novel.
Your favourite book quote.
"I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and become wild. I didn't embrace the word as my new name because it defined negative aspects of my circumstances or life, but because even in my darkest days - those very days in which I was naming myself - I saw the power of the darkness. Saw that, in fact, I had strayed and that I was a stray and that from the wild places my straying had brought me, I knew things I couldn't have known before." - Wild