It always hurts more to have and lose than to not have in the first place.
—Khaled Hosseini in The Kite Runner
—Khaled Hosseini in The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini (Persian: خالد حسینی [ˈxɒled hoˈsejni]; ; born c. 4 March 1965) is an Afghan-American novelist, physician, activist, humanitarian and UNHCR goodwill ambassador. After graduating from college, he worked as a doctor in California, a predicament that he likened to "an arranged marriage." He has published three novels, most notably his 2003 debut The Kite Runner, all of which are at least partially set in Afghanistan and feature an Afghan as the protagonist. Following the success of The Kite Runner he retired from medicine to write full-time.