Current reads

Currently I am reading Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez.

"Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid group. Surrounded by people whose skills--as doctors, nurses, and therapists--seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons.
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid group. Surrounded by people whose skills--as doctors, nurses, and therapists--seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons." HCPL online catalog.

A sad, yet uplifting story. These women go through so much and still thrive.

There is also a docudrama DVD titled Beauty Academy in Kabul which is the story of the beauty school from a different perspective than the book listed above. Here is the synopsis:
"A quirky gaggle of Western hairstylists armed with blow dryers and designer scissors improbably open a school to teach eager Afghan women the high art of fixing hair. The women of Kabul embrace the beauty lessons with unbridled hope." HCPL Online Catalog.