Finding My Way: A Memoir, by Malala Yousafzai
Available now in Paperback, Hardcover, eBook and Audio
Recommended by MaryAnn Shank, author of Sor Juana, My Beloved and The Mystical Land of Myrrh
Why I love this book:
We know Malala as the lovely teenage girl, the extraordinarily brave young woman disfigured by an assassin’s bullet, then brought back to life with surgeries in the U.S.
We have heard of her unrelenting crusade for women’s literacy, of her travels throughout the world to promote those ideals.
What we have not heard are the personal stories, such as how she finally came to respect her mother, or her first ill-advised romance in college, or how she almost flunked out of Oxford, of the school that she built and maintained in a remote corner of the world, of the whole extended family that she supported. These are the stories she tells now, humbly and without adornment.
I came to respect her immensely, not as a crusader, but as a kind, loving woman.
A Snippet
Abortion is illegal in Pakistan, except to save the life of the mother, and is punishable by three to ten years in prison, depending on how far the fetus has developed. If I had asked my mom whether she supported reproductive rights, she would have said no. She might have added that none of this would have happened if Apana had followed the rules, stayed inside her house, and never talked to men. But she knew the fate of an unmarried, pregnant thirteen-year-old in our society. And she risked what little freedom she had to save a girl’s life.
My mom was a hero, brave and generous. She was also judgmental, unsparing, and strict,especially with me. I longed for a day when I could tell her all my secrets and call her my friend. In the meantime, I laced up my sneakers and joined her evening stroll every night.
Talk a Little, Talk a Lot
There’s a lot to talk about with Malala. Here are a few I have mulled over.
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Saving Ellen
Or choose one of these topics:
Africa Alcoholism Anthology Art Atlanta Bicentennial Birds Book Banning Book clubs Brooklyn Chronic illness Early 1900s Ecology Family Relationships Faraway Places Historical Mystery Japanese Internment Jazz Legends Magic Medieval Mexico Midlife Native Americans Peace Corps Poetry Prostitution Scotland Siblings True Crime Women Sleuths Writers/Poets