LOS ANGELES — Some people express their passion, fears and hopes in their own diary tucked away somewhere underneath their pillow.

But Dania Al-Khouli, 20, bravely reveals it all in “91 at 19,” a poetry book she self-published at the age of 19.

“Being a Muslim Arab American female, who wears the head cover, I thought publishing a book — and not just any book, but a book of pure expression, passion and emotion — could surpass so many barriers that the media and that culture places upon us,” Al-Khouli says.

Al-Khouli’s journey began when she entered the teenage realm. Poetry helped her transition from the qualms of being a teenager to entering adulthood. By the age of 19, Dania wrote 91 poems and realized she also had a catchy title to go along with it.

After doing research online to find a decent publishing company, yet careful not to fall into the traps of out-of-state publishers that wanted the money upfront, Al-Khouli finally found a publisher, Seven Locks Press Inc., through interfaith connections in Huntington Beach.

The initial book revealed a side of her she usually never shared with anyone.

“The ones I’d show to some people for feedback did not revolve around the topic of love and relationships — they were the ones about religion, life, nature or family. But deep inside, I knew that when I wrote the ones about the 'tabooed' subject, my heart gave an extra jolt, making the words a bit deeper,” Al-Khouli says. “But I’ll point out that I feel they are culturally tabooed, not religiously. I never understood why it was always considered OK for a man to express his heartbeats to a woman or the world, but a woman couldn’t.”

Al-Khouli’s favorite time to write was also the most unexpected time. “Most of my best poems happen to come right as I’m about to go to sleep. And this has happened so many times that I’ve learned my lesson. I usually keep a notebook and pen, or my phone, by my bedside.”

Her breakthrough to the community was about to also be revealed to the world. However, something went wrong.

“It started out like a bad dream at first with the silences and the waiting and the confusion. Then finally I discovered the publishing company had gone out of business and was in debt.”