aaron kelly, the first state ofs being, green willow books, harper collins publisher.or blessing me and honoring me with the ability to uplift mohamed. i'm thrilled to be here. thank you everyone involved in making this beautiful event happen. to my fellow nominees, it has been inspiring to read my words and your words along mine and i poured over your books with great admiration. thank you to my sister for watching my kids so i can be here. it was not an easy task. there are four of them. my parents for always believing in me. they came from syria to give us a better life. it was a struggle. with the new culture and language. they showed us what it looked like to be proud, strong muslims. i wouldn't be who i am without my parents. thank you to my siblings, in-laws, family, community for all their continued support. thank you to my husband for being the best life partner. for being the reason i'm up here today. i would not be an author without him. thank you to my kids. my biggest inspiration, motivation and greatest gift from allah. i'm most proud of being their mothe