Sarah Shourd is an author, journalist, playwright, and activist. She is known for being an advocate against the overuse of solitary confinement in prisons.In 2009, Shourd was hiking with friends in Syria when they accidentally crossed the border into Iran. They were imprisoned and Shourd was held in Iran's Evin Prison for 410 days. Her first book, coauthored with her fellow hostages Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, "A Sliver of Light," was published in 2015.Shourd received her B.A. from the University of Berkeley. She was also a UC Berkeley Visiting Scholar in 2014.