This is the true story of Debbie, a beautician from the U.S., who goes to Afghanistan with a Christian disaster relief organization and ends of creating a beauty school in Afghanistan. She becomes very involved with the Afghan women, trying to help as many of them as she can, helping them to become independent and make money to help support their families. She encounters a lot of cultural differences that make her efforts to help hard to achieve. She also marries an Afghan man and tells us some of how difficult it is with the cultural disparity. I wish that I could say that she has total success with both her humanitarian efforts and her personal life, but like most of life, her success is tempered by realities beyond her control. I admire all the efforts that she puts in and think that everything she accomplished is valuable. Two of my children also read this book and liked it very much.
After reading the reviews I will also say that my comment on reading the 1st chapter was, "how can she tell about the incident with Roshanna? Wouldn't that endanger Roshanna?" I figured that the principles in this part of the story must either be dead, so as to be beyond the retribution that may take place as a result of the tale-telling; or that Debbie was making it all up. I am terribly upset to hear that some of the women portrayed in the book are in danger as a result of what Debbie said about them. I don't think Debbie had bad intentions but I guess her understanding of what could happen was still incomplete despite everything she knew from living in Afghanistan.
What can I say in the end about this book? A woman with good intentions (I think) and bad judgment. She prances about Afghanistan, flaunting the Afghan cultural taboos, and when it comes down to it, she leaves and goes back to America, but writing a tell-all book that exposes her students to mortal danger. That is juxtaposed against a very good idea to train Afghan women to become beauticians and give them a way to make a living.

I will be including this book in Svoight's I've Been Everywhere Bookbox.

Put into the I've Been Everywhere book box and sent on to Izzy5000 in Colorado.

I'm really excited for this book! Taken from Bookstogive's I've Been everywhere Bookbox.

1/1/11 - (First book read for the new year!) This story was really sentimental and made me so happy for the women she helped, but also for the conditions those women have to live with every day. This would definetly go under my 'must read before death' list. I'm really glad that this site brought me to this book - please read it!

Sent to Nattabee as a RABCK along with a journal and some chocolate.I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Happy reading!

Lizzy5000, thank you so much for the package! This book looks good, and I loved the journal...that's just the type I use!! Also, I aprreciate the pens and chocolate. (I am a fan of BOTH!! haha)

Thank you again, lizzy5000 for sharing this with me, and thanks oliviapoolside for starting the book on its journey. This is not one that I would have picked myself simply because I don't do a lot of nonfiction. However, this book was interesting from start to finish.

Starting the book with the story of Roshanna captures the readers' attention right from the beginning, but I must say that I appreciated oliviapoolside's comments about endangering Roshanna's like by even telling the story. Over and over again in this book, I kept thinking about how fortunate I am to have grown up in a country where women are not treated as they are in the book.

I also agree with the comment that Debbie seems to have a good heart, and the beauty school has helped several women. I was left wondering what really happened to Roshanna though, especially after she went to Saudi and found out that her husband's family had lied about their situation. (Don't want to give too much away!!)
I also wonder what happened to Hama too!

The only drawbacks are:
(1) The are a lot of characters and stories in the book...it can get overwhemling at times, but of course she (Debbie) has a lot to tell.
(2) Interesting book as it is, I agree with olivapoolside and wonder why (assuming her intentions were good) the author would give the world all these details. It's like selling your best friend's secrets to the tabloids. I feel as though she endangered their lives by writing this book.

Needless to say, I was a little torn with my feelings on the book, but it for sure was too interesting to put down!!

I am saving this book for someone special who has it on their wishlist. :-)

Arrived as part of my Easter Exchange box. Thanks!

A good read. I don't normally read memoirs. This one held my attention. I do wish I knew what happened. I'm reading this book so long after it was first published.

Sending as a RABCK to Shahrun. Enjoy!

This book has arrived and sound with me in London. Thank you so much, I'd forgotten all about it. I look forward to reading it. I shall do my best to to get it moving again soon.