Lipstick in Afghanistan

(Paperback)

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Description

When naive Boston nurse Elsa Murphy volunteered at an aid agency, she thought it would be a good way for her to help others and see the world. What she didn't expect was to be sent to Afghanistan - not long after 9/11 - to serve a year in the trenches. Stationed in a remote village, Elsa soon comes to realise that her life will be changed forever by what she sees - and who she befriends. Emotionally powerful, accessible and timely, Lipstick in Afghanistan is a testament to the power of friendship and marks the debut of a strikingly authentic new voice in women's fiction.

Reviews

[Gately gives] readers an Afghanistan thathas the tang of the real deal. Publishers Weekly
[Gately is] a supremely gifted writer and eloquent ambassador for the people who have been banished from civilized society Mark Fritz, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist & author of Lost on Earth: Nomads in the New World
"Gatelys absorbing debut transports readers to the small Afghan village of Bamiyan in the months after 9/11. A volunteer for a French relief organization, Elsa Murphy, a young nurse, has left her tragic life behind in Boston in the hopes of finding a purpose by providing aid and medical care in Afghanistan. Living without running water and on rationed kerosene, the one comfort from home Elsa allows herself is lipstick, which helps her retain her identity behind the veil she wears. Elsas work engenders two relationships that will change her life: a friendship with Parween, a young, strong-willed Afghani widow whose hatred of the Taliban is born out of unimaginable loss, and a romance with Mike, a handsome, brave U.S. soldier with flashing blue eyes. Though the Taliban have largely been driven out by the soldiers, Elsa learns they are still very much a presence. In this utterly engrossing read, Gately vividly evokes the beauty and tragedy of Afghanistan, where she, like Elsa, worked as a nurse after 9/11." - Booklist

Author Bio

A nurse, humanitarian aid worker, and writer, Roberta Gately has served in war zones ranging from Africa to Afghanistan.She has written extensively on the subject of refugees for the Journal of Emergency Nursing, as well as a series of articles for the BBC Worlds News Online.She speaks regularly on the plight of the worlds refugees and displaced.