When I was in Boston area this summer, I found four books that looked amazing. One of them was this novel by Roberta Gately, a nurse who has worked in warzones, including Afghanistan after 9/11.
Lipstick in Afghanistan is a beautiful story of how two women from different continents come together to try and change the world. It follows Elsa, a young girl from Boston as she finds her calling to become a nurse and works against the odds to achieve this goal, and it follows Parween, who is from Afghanistan and has a mind of her own.
Giving the reader an insight on what daily life is/was like for daughters and women in Afghanistan, before and during the Taliban regimes, it showed how appreciative the locals were when the soldiers came in to free them from their oppressors. While the point of view is very American-centric (which makes sense, as it is an American author), I believe it gives the reader a realistic view on how the people in a war torn country react both positively and negatively to the help of foreigners. It also shows the difficulty in trying to blend into cultural norms, when standing out could be a deadly mistake.
This was a great book, that left me a little distraught with the last two chapters – I understand why the author had to do it, but it was hard to go back to work and focus for the afternoon.
I will definitely be reading Roberta’s other book “The Bracelet” and I highly recommend you picking up her books.
Craft patterns and projects 