One plus of having the work schedule that I do, is that I have had the pleasure to read some very good books. My favorites have been The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and just recently, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I cannot stop thinking about Khaled Hossenini’s beautiful story. A Thousand Splendid Suns is about the hard years in which Afghanistan struggled during the Taliban rule. The story is centered on the abuse (both physical and psychological), pain, loss, sexism, and constant fear that women went through during these years. This book really touched me. I cried a lot while reading it (including at the gym – embarrassing!) and often could not put it down. Although this book is fiction, it is based on true facts and stories that have been going on in Afghanistan from the 1980’s and of course are still happening.
I felt truly connected to the main characters in this book, Mariam and Laila. Their stories made me feel so lucky to be a woman in a country where I am free to marry whom I want, work in many different types of occupations, and where I am (more or less) considered equal. I have never worried about not having food on the table, being able to laugh or sing freely in the streets, worried about what I could wear in public, or worried about the chance to receive an education. And most importantly I have never worried that my father, or family would abandon me. A week or so ago I was stressed about what do I do after Spain? What job will I find? What graduate school could I get into? How do I see all of the places I want to see?…but today, I am feeling both guilty for those thoughts and truly grateful for the life I have.
It is unfortunate that you have to read tragic (yet beautiful) stories such as A Thousand Splendid Suns in order to appreciate your life but sometimes it is what it takes to give you some perspective.
The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it : James Bryce
