The Other Side of the Sky

Author: Farah Ahmedi with Tamim Ansary

Farah Ahmedi was seven years old when she stepped on a landmine in her neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan and lost her left leg. A few years later, most of her family was killed in a Taliban rocket attack and Farah was forced to flee, with her ailing mother, across the border to Pakistan. There, Farah and her mother trekked precariously from city to city and finally managed to secure admission into the U.S. as refugees-only to find that the struggle to survive, adapt and prosper was far from over. The Other Side of the Sky paints a vivid picture of the bewildering and even terrifying experiences refugees undergo in the apparent safety of American suburbs and public high schools. Throughout the memoir, however, Farah's faith, resilience and intellectual curiosity lead her from one inspirational triumph to the next. For all of Farah's suffering at the hands of others, her account persistently underlines that, "Strangers have been kind when it mattered most." The Other Side of the Sky is a refreshingly hopeful, at times humorous, and deeply moving story of a powerful young woman's improbable success.

The Other Side of the Sky: A Memoir

Year Released: 2005

Grades 9-12