Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil

Intriguing story of a costmetologist who has reached a personal dead-end in life and decides to volunteer in Kabul. She finds little that she is qualified to do and feels like a fifth wheel until she goes into a local beauty salon and discovers that the women inside the shop have no training, just the desire to help other women. She takes over the training and modernizes the shop as well as giving the women training that will allow them to open other places, begin to make money, take on initiative. It seems to me that the author compensates for the lack of personal emotional depth in her enthusiasm to help others.

This was a ridiculously easy read. I felt like I was browsing through a woman's blog about her stay in Afghanistan. Which is fine - she had tons of interesting stories. While I was reading, I thought maybe I liked this book a little bit; 3 stars, maybe? After I finished, I started thinking about the author, and I liked this book less and less. She seems like the type of loud, obnoxious, ugly American that I would normally like to avoid. Which is ironic, since she did really get into real Afghan life (at least, much more than did the other NGO/non-profit workers who stayed inside their heavily-guarded compounds).

Amazing book and story. What courageous women they are. This is on my must read list especially today. Getting to know and understand this culture is critical to their survival. They deserve the best we can give also. Thank you. I want more stories though.