Basir was on his way back to them, a glittering trout tied to the end of a stick, raised in the air like a triumphant scepter.
“I am more than fine,” she told her daughters, and for the first time in a long time, she believed those small, precious words to be true.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The time, motivation, and inspiration to write are gifts that my family so graciously gives me. Thank you to: my husband for keeping my stories (and our story) exciting; my parents for, as ineloquent as it sounds, everything; my children for making these stories important to tell and for their nascent love of books; my friends and family for sharing my stories with their own circles; and my colleagues for believing art and medicine are closer than they seem. I am indebted to and in awe of Heather Barr, whose Human Rights Watch report “I Had to Run Away”: The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes” in Afghanistan was a window into the inner workings of the women’s prison system there. Heather, you were generous with your time and wisdom of the penal and procedural codes of Afghanistan, and this book is more authentic for it. Any errors related to said topics are my own. I am grateful that the very dedicated Manizha Naderi put me in touch with Heather. Thanks to Dr. Esmael Darman, editor in chief of Rawan Online, for his insights into the stigma, prevalence, and treatment of mental illness in Afghanistan.
I am one lucky writer to have my work represented (and titled) by the sagacious Helen Heller. I am just as fortunate to be edited by Rachel Kahan. Your passion for purposeful books behooves us all. There are so many to thank at HarperCollins: Jeanie Lee and the sharp-eyed copy editors and proofreaders, Mumtaz Mustafa for a third wonderful cover, Virginia Stanley and the energetic library marketing team, Amanda Mulvihill and the international force (we’ve got lots of fun ahead of us), Camille Collins, Kate Schafer, Ashley Marudas and the marketing department, and the many, many others who help bring my stories to readers.
And of course, my gratitude to book clubs, coordinators of book festivals, librarians, booksellers, and all those who persist in celebrating stories and the transformative power of reading.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NADIA HASHIMI is an Afghan American pediatrician living in suburban Washington, D.C. She is the author of the international bestsellers The Pearl That Broke Its Shell and When the Moon Is Low.
nadiahashimi.com
/NadiaHashimiBooks
@NadiaHashimi
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