My Dear Kabul

'A real-time, moving and intimate portrait of a year living under the Taliban, communicated via clandestine WhatsApp messages'

SERVICE95

'An intimate, courageous chronicle of life as it unfolds under Taliban rule'

OBSERVER, Book of the Day

'A hugely important book'

BERNARDINE EVARISTO

'A deeply moving collective memoir'

LYSE DOUCET

In August 2021, as the Taliban approached the gates of Kabul, twenty-one women writers in Afghanistan came online in their WhatsApp chat group: they asked what news others had heard and if everyone was safe.

These women had been brought together as a writing group. They were about to publish their first collection of short stories, while working regular day jobs. Some were students, some newly married, one was a grandmother: all were afraid of what was now to come. Over the next year, in the makeshift refuge of their WhatsApp group, they shared the day-to-day reality of life after a fall.

Publishing on the anniversary of the Fall of Kabul, this is the women's courageous collective diary: in it the writers watch cities transform, schools close, families change and freedoms disappear. They share stories of chaos, protest and flight - and of life continuing. Check-points are a daily trial; men start behaving differently. Children can't afford the ice-cream man's wares; passports are near impossible to obtain. Together, their messages form a powerful chorus of resistance and solidarity.

'Its courage is momentous'

ALI SMITH

An intimate, courageous chronicle of life as it unfolds under Taliban rule Observer
Poignant The Economist
A deeply moving collective memoir -- Lyse Doucet
Its courage is momentous -- Ali Smith
A hugely important book. I was willingly swept along; I could not put it down -- Bernardine Evaristo
A real-time, moving and intimate portrait of a year living under the Taliban, communicated via clandestine WhatsApp messages Dua Lipa's Service95
This book pulls you behind the headlines. From the very first message you're there with these incredible women, feeling their bravery, their horrors and their hope. This is exactly what books are meant to do -- Luan Goldie
Brave and compelling. These remarkable women take us into a world we should all know about -- Sandi Toksvig
These writings in translation honour the individuality of Afghan women and their voices Southasia Review of Books
These are urgent whispers from some of the bravest, most articulate women of our times -- Mohammed Hanif
Heartbreaking, harrowing and compelling . . . this book is a running document of the lives of Afghan women under siege and beyond. My Dear Kabul is the story of female courage and friendship in the face of the most extreme patriarchal clamp-down on female freedom of every kind -- Monique Roffey
Urgent and harrowing, full of tension and life -- Dina Nayeri
A powerful, moving and important book showcasing the voices of Afghan women writers, determined to be heard and share their stories of loss, love, rebellion and brilliance. A wonderful read. -- Kate Mosse

Untold Narratives works to develop and amplify the work of writers marginalised by community or conflict. Its translators and editors work collaboratively with writers to develop their craft, connect them to one another and share their stories with readers in their local languages, and globally in translation.

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