Hi all, how are you? How is this new way of life, bound to home, working for you. Let’s make the full of it, because before you know it this pandemic will be over and we will be back to our busy routines. Today, I’m back to talk about another book. The book ‘I am Malala’ has seen it’s peak popularity about 5 years ago, and that’s when my friend gifted me this book on my birthday. Since then I’ve picked up this book to read for tens and hundreds of time, but every single time something came up and I didn’t get past page 10. But this time I was very determined to finish it, since my main focus during this pandemic is to finish as many as unfinished things I can. So I picked up an audiobook from my e-library and listened to it while drawing. I was all done with this book in mere 4 days. A little disclaimer, a lot has happened since this book has came out, there have been many speculations that Malala was an agent, or she is paid by Americans to make statements, and at times she has made stands against my beliefs. So this incidences made her girl boss image little dull, and her heroism is no longer the highlight of the book for me. Yet this book tells a ground reality of a land so close to my homeland and so unknown to me. This shows how contrasting lives we live, side by side. This gives me a base to imagine what some females are experiencing in few parts of the world, just because of the gender they are. I’ll put this book in the line of Iranian and Afghanistani books that I read so often. And after listening to this book, I will surely read the copy that was gifted to me years ago.

Malala paints a pretty picture of her hometown, the valley and the beauty of nature for us. She starts with the few peaceful moments she has lived, the very few moments where she had a common childhood like us, even in somewhat uncommon circumstances. She tells us about the things she is proud of, about how affectionate she is to her family, and about her vision for her homeland. She walks us through the changes happening in her valley, first the minor changes which go unnoticed, and then the sped up sudden groundbreaking changes, which drastically altered the lives they lived before. How the politics and power play between few influential people affects commoners is heartbreaking to read about. Malala tells us about the values that her religion and region has taught her. And then she goes on how a few people interpreted them differently for their own good, and spread the word to go against other people. Most vulnerable people follow these wrong-influences blindly and it gives rise to a new community which in turn ruined the previous peaceful people.

The difficulties these people in swath valley faced, are beyond we can ever imagine. They face struggles achieving anything that a common man has right to have. The basics that we start off with, are what they fight for. Things like safety, education, freedom or a comfort of living carelessly in our own home, which we inherit by birth, are luxury for these people. Books like this give you a reality check of how blessed our lives are. These books give us a look into the world, where we won’t even survive. These books make you stronger to face the problems you may never have.

The narration of Malala is engaging. She tells her story like a Bollywood movie, it has everything, from happy days, to gray days when things are taking a bad turn, to political tensions, to religious fights, to feminism, to empowerment, to thrill and suspense. She tell us about all her horrible experiences, highlighting what she learned from them, or how they changed her as a person. She might have gone through a difficult time to rethink and go through those experiences again and again while writing this book, but she made sure that we gain something for ourselves from the struggles she faced. Read this book on the gloomy days when you feel like nothings going right in your life, for you’ll find so many perfections in your own life while reading this book. Read this book when you feel like doing nothing, for this book will make you rise up from that bed and do everything you’ve been procrastinating. It’s a simple read, written by a simple girl who did not so simple things very simply. The language is very fluid and natural. You’ll enjoy this book, and finish it up feeling good for sure. Comment down if you’ve read it, or planning to read. Let me know what books have inspired you the most. More about another book in the next blog. Till then keep reading, stay positive and stay safe.