The Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan, by Enjeela Ahmadi Miller
Published by Little A, 1st March 2019
Genres: Nonfiction, autobiography, memoir, war, history, refugees
Format: Kindle eBook
Source: Purchased
Synopsis
Enjeela spent the first few years of her life living comfortably and happily in Kabul, Afghanistan, safe in the heart of her large family. After the Soviet invasion in 1980, her family is forced to flee the country, by various different means. This raw and candid memoir tells Enjeela’s story as she makes the treacherous journey from Kabul to New Delhi and finally to America.
My thoughts
This was an unbelievable tale of resilience, determination and the strong bond of familial love. I found many similarities with another memoir I read last year: Butterfly, by Yusra Mardini. In both cases, the vulnerability of refugees is very apparent, both in the face of the bureaucracy and obstacles they face at every step of their journey, but also in relation to the people to whom they must entrust their lives, in the hopes that they will help them escape.
Some of the events which Enjeela describes from their journey seem to come from a work of fiction. It is hard to believe, sitting in my safe home in a stable first-world country, that so many people go through these things, and much worse, in the hopes of finding a better life elsewhere. It really makes me reflect on how lucky I am to have been born into these circumstances.
This is one of the reasons why I love to read autobiographies and memoirs. The world is a vast place full of so many people who have lived such varied experiences, and I just love to learn about them, especially first hand.
This is not an easy book to read, but I think that it is an important one. In this day and age, when the world is going through some very uncertain times, it is easy to focus on ourselves and our struggles. But imagine how refugees are faring in this current climate. How much harder it must be to maintain sanitary conditions and social distance whilst living in a refugee camp. I can’t even begin to imagine…
Anyway, I digress. I loved this book and I cannot recommend it enough, whether you are a lover of nonfiction or not!
My rating: 4/5