In Cell 54, I could only be my own companion, day and night, and it was only natural that I should come to know that ‘self’ of mine. I had never had such a chance before, preoccupied as I had been with work in the army and with politics, and hurried along by the constant stream of life.

Now in the complete solitude of Cell 54, when I had no links at all with the outside world—not even newspapers or a radio—the only way in which I could break my loneliness was, paradoxically, to seek the companionship of that inner entity I call ‘self’ …
~~Anwar Sadat