The Secret Gate by Mitchell Zuckoff

 

Homeira Qaderi is a mother, author, celebrated activist and champion of rights for all Afghani women, and outspoken critic of the Taliban. When the United States announced their withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Taliban regained control of Homeira's beloved country, she knew her life was now in danger. But she was determined to stay in Kabul and keep speaking out against the Taliban. Until her family finally convinced her to try and escape. 

Sam Aronson, a junior diplomat with the State Department, was on vacation when Afghanistan devolved into chaos. He quickly volunteered to help with the refugee crisis and ended up being sent to the airport in Kabul to try and vet the thousands of Afghani citizens desperate to leave their country and escape the Taliban--especially those who had done so much to help the Americans over the last twenty years. But it's all the ones he's forced to turn away that begin to give him nightmares. That's when he decides to try and bring as many people as he can through the airport's secret gate before it closes for good. Homeira Qaderi and her son are two of the people he helped save. 

My thoughts:  This incredible true story is both riveting and heartbreaking. Thinking about what happened in Afghanistan in August of 2021 still makes me angry and sad. And this book captures all of  those emotions. The masterful way that Zuckoff interweaves Homeira's and Sam's eyewitness accounts lets you see the harrowing and tragic events taking place on both sides of the gate. Sam's determination to save lives was inspiring. And Homeira's love for her country deepened my understanding of Afghanistan and it's history. For me, this was a 5-star read! 

Happy Reading!

Similar, and equally good book:

A Favorite Read...

In the Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda

This would be a great book club book because there are so many things to think about and discuss in it. 10-year-old Enaiatolla Akbari's mother takes him to Pakistan from their home in Nava, Afghanistan...and leaves him there. Alone. (As a mother, could you do that? Even if it were to save your son's life?) Before she leaves, Enaiat's mother makes him promise to never do three things: never use drugs, never use weapons to harm anyone, and never cheat or steal.

The rest of the book chronicles Enaiat's journey from Pakistan to Iran to Turkey to Greece and, finally, to Italy where he finds asylum, friends, and a home. It is an amazing tale of survival, especially for a boy so young. No child's life should be this hard. But the most amazing thing of all is how Enaiat never loses hope, and how he chooses to be grateful, never bitter. I cried when I finished this book, but it was a good cry. This book is so thought-provoking, and heartbreaking, and powerful, and moving....and good. I love this story. For me, In The Sea There Are Crocodiles is a definite must-read! 

Similar Reads:

     The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

     The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari

The Taliban Cricket Club

Before the Taliban came into power, Rukhsana attended university, played cricket, fell in love, and even became a journalist. But now she is just one of the faceless, voiceless single women of Kabul, unable to leave her home alone, condemned to invisibility under her burka, hoping to find a way out of Afghanistan for both herself and her younger brother, Jahan.

"A few meters of fabric, soft, fragile, and pliable, became our cell. No granite was was more impregnable, no bars more unbreakable, no dungeon darker or more dreadful. I vanished from sight, as if a magician had passed a wand over me. I was no longer Rukhsana with a distinctive nose, a mouth, eyes, a forehead, a chin, a head of hair, but a walking shroud, identical to every other shamed and shrouded woman in the street. Under the burka it was clear that this Afghanistan had no place for women."

 It looks hopeless...until the Taliban themselves unexpectedly offer a way out:  playing cricket. They want to show the world that sport is alive and well in Afghanistan by forming a state cricket team. If Rukhsana can teach her brother and her many male cousins how to play, she just might be able to get them all out of Afghanistan. But she only has 3 weeks in which to do it. And, as a woman, she's been forbidden to play. If she's caught, they could all be sent to prison. Or worse. To add to her difficulties, there is a hateful Taliban minister who wants to marry her....

Wow. I loved this book! Timeri N. Murari's writing is poetic and powerful. I held my breath with Rukhsana, and cringed in fear, and laughed and cried with her. I worried about her brother and her cousins. Murari even made me care about a cricket match. The Taliban Cricket Club is a remarkable story of one young woman's hope, strength, and defiance in the face of overwhelming cruelty and terror. It is a story of family loyalty. Most of all, it is a love story. One I won't soon forget.

Similar Reads:
     Kabul Girls Soccer Club by Awista Ayub
     The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
     The Sewing Circles of Herat by Christina Lamb