New York ( CNN ) -- Just about a year ago , Josh Fattal , one of three American hikers imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of espionage , tasted freedom . But the road back from an Iranian jail cell -- where he spent more than two years -- to life in the United States has left the 30-year-old reflecting about what he and fellow hikers Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd had to endure . `` It 's been quite a year , '' said Fattal . `` I feel way better than a year ago . That 's for sure . '' He said it 's been difficult to recover from his 781 days of imprisonment in an 8-by-13 foot jail cell . `` I 'm feeling really good , but it 's not easy to transition , '' he said . `` A lot of people experience trauma , but mine was very prolonged , systematic , enduring trauma and it 's hard to come out of that . '' In an interview with CNN , Fattal described how he and Bauer used to sit in their cell and wonder what it would be like to be free again . After he was released on September 21 , 2011 , he said even simple decisions proved daunting . `` We did n't think it would be as hard as it ( turned out to ) be at all , '' he said . `` Now I have the freedom to turn off the light bulb when I sleep . I have the freedom to sleep with sheets . There 's all sorts of freedom to move I did n't have before . '' The three Americans were hiking in northern Iraq 's mountainous Kurdish region in July 2009 when they were arrested by Iranian border guards , after apparently straying into Iranian territory . Now back in the United States , Fattal on Saturday organized an `` Occupy '' -inspired event in Manhattan , celebrating his one year of freedom . Next week , Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to address the United Nations General Assembly . `` They 're probably down on 5th Avenue shopping for some capitalist luxuries , '' he said , referring to Ahmadinejad 's entourage . `` And so we want him to bring that stuff to the 'Really , Really Free Market , ' `` a tongue-in-cheek reference to his anniversary event in New York City 's Madison Square Park . Earlier this year , Fattal traveled to Louisville , Kentucky , taking advantage of an invitation to toast Muhammad Ali at his 70th birthday party . The boxing legend had lobbied on the hikers ' behalf during their imprisonment . `` I told him how much it uplifted me . I told him how buoyant I was when I read ( his ) words , '' said Fattal . `` When I read about the press conference that he gave ... I then immediately put down the letter I was reading ... and started shadow boxing in the room . '' But the former prisoner also recounted darker times , explaining that the memories of his days and nights spent behind bars still occasionally fill his nightmares . `` We have n't really had a chance to explain all , '' he said , adding that he has plans to publish a tell-all book with his former fellow inmates sometime next year . He declined to offer further details about his imprisonment until the book is published .
Josh Fattal is one of three hikers who were imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of spying . The other two are Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd. Fattal and the other hikers are working on a tell-all book to be released next year . He was freed from prison one year ago .