This is a punch in the gut. A memoir of sorts of the realities of being a woman in Afghanistan. I feel unbelievably fortunate to never have had to live in such fear or with so little opportunity just for being a woman. I admire the strength of the author to fight for herself. Listened to the audio book and enjoyed the narrator. ( )

Stories of her childhood and teen years in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation, the civil war, and under the rule of the Taliban with a letter to her son who she had to leave behind after her husband divorced her.

I appreciated her sharing her stories of life growing up in Afghanistan and the reactions of her mother and grandmother as well as her male relatives. I had a hard time dealing with the misogyny shown by the men in her life. I abhorred the men held up as leaders--Maulawi Rashad and Commander Mooso. I was glad when Homeira spoke to her father about what she had seen in the mosque. I also found it hard to read about her treatment at the hands of men who thought she was a "bad girl" because she was out without a male relative. I felt a lot of anger at the antiquated thinking while reading her story.

I loved her determination to better her life and other girls' lives and, along the way, the boys' lives also. I felt anger at her husband. He had led her to believe they were working together and had the same objectives.

I hope that one day she can give her son the letters she wrote. I hope that he can help in her work of changing Afghan culture to be kinder and gentler towards woman. ( )

The plight of women in Afghanistan was first brought to my attention by the book Three Cups of Tea. This book is a more personal account. Homeira Quaderi grew up in Herat. First it was the Russian and then it was the Taliban. While Afghanistan has always giving women little freedom, the Taliban took it away from anyone who disagreed with them. Having to give up school, live behind closed doors and only allowed to go outside the home if accompanied by a male relative, Homeira chafed at the inequity. I found decision as a young girl to teach her neighbors and then expand education into the refuge camps one of the bravest things I’ve read about. She was forced to marry a man from the neighborhood at age 17, to save her from being taken by Taliban who wanted to marry her. Moving to Iran was an eye-opener for her. There was so much more freedom and she was able to get her Ph.D because Irani women were encouraged to independent and educated. On their return to Kabul where her husband was employed by the government, she found the only thing worth living for was her newly born son. As she writes her history, she includes letters she has written to her son. After being divorced from her husband, she relinquished all contact with her son and moved to California. The story told in first person is powerful. ( )