The Lightless Sky: A Twelve-Year-Old Refugee's Harrowing Escape from Afghanistan and His Extraordinary Journey Across Half the World
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
A gripping, inspiring, and eye-opening memoir of fortitude and survival—of a twelve-year-old boy’s traumatic flight from Afghanistan to the West—that puts a face to one of the most shocking and devastating humanitarian crises of our time.
“To risk my life had to mean something. Otherwise what was it all for?”
In 2006, after his father was killed, Gulwali Passarlay was caught between the Taliban who wanted to recruit him, and the Americans who wanted to use him. To protect her son, Gulwali’s mother sent him away. The search for safety would lead the twelve-year-old across eight countries, from the mountains of eastern Afghanistan through Iran and Europe to Britain. Over the course of twelve harrowing months, Gulwali endured imprisonment, hunger, cruelty, brutality, loneliness, and terror—and nearly drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Eventually granted asylum in England, Gulwali was sent to a good school, learned English, won a place at a top university, and was chosen to help carry the Olympic Torch in the 2012 London Games.
In The Lightless Sky, Gulwali recalls his remarkable experience and offers a firsthand look at one of the most pressing issues of our time: the modern refugee crisis—the worst displacement of millions of men, women, and children in generations. Few, like Gulwali, make it to a country that offers the chance of freedom and opportunity. A celebration of courage and determination, The Lightless Sky is a poignant account of an exceptional human being who is today an ardent advocate of democracy—and a reminder of our responsibilities to those caught in terrifying and often deadly circumstances beyond their control.
Gulwali Passarlay
Gulwali Passarlay was sent away from Afghanistan as a young boy, fleeing the conflict that had claimed his father’s life. After an extraordinarily tortuous journey across eight countries, Gulwali arrived in the United Kingdom a year later and has most recently devoted his new life to education. Now twenty-one years old, he is set to graduate from the University of Manchester with a degree in politics. Gulwali is a member of many prestigious political, aid, and youth groups, each a stepping-stone to his ultimate goal: to run for the presidency of Afghanistan.
Related to The Lightless Sky
Related ebooks
The Lightless Sky: A Twelve-Year-Old Refugee's Harrowing Escape from Afghanistan and His Extraordinary Journey Across Half the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nujeen: One Girl's Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved by Her Enemy: An Iraqi woman's journey from the heart of war to the heartland of America Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Other Side of the Sky: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Grew Tired of Us: The Heartbreaking, Inspiring Story of a Lost Boy of Sudan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where the Wind Leads: A Refugee Family's Miraculous Story of Loss, Rescue, and Redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl Who Escaped ISIS: This Is My Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Children of Dust: A Memoir of Pakistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Opium Nation: Child Brides, Drug Lords, and One Woman's Journey Through Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Footprints in the Dust Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bite of the Mango Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lipstick in Afghanistan Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dear Zari: The Secret Lives of the Women of Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barefoot in Baghdad: A Story of Identity—My Own and What It Means to Be a Woman in Chaos Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Unveiled: How an American Woman Found Her Way Through Politics, Love, and Obedience in the Middle East Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Behind the Burqa: Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Orphans of Dachau Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mahima: A Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntolerable: A Memoir of Extremes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Painted Hands: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under the Persimmon Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Shugri Said Salh's The Last Nomad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Enemy, My Brother Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Silent Escape Through the Nights of the Kurdish Regions: Based on a True Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Biography & Memoir For You
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jack Reacher Reading Order: The Complete Lee Child’s Reading List Of Jack Reacher Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Things My Son Needs to Know about the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ivy League Counterfeiter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leonardo da Vinci Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A Crack In Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Solace of Open Spaces: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wiseguy: The 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wright Brothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mommie Dearest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Taste: My Life Through Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Lightless Sky
17 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An extraordinary book by a remarkable man. An epic journey of hardship and resilience having been forced to flee Afghanistan. at 12 years old, his mother makes the ultimate sacrifice by sending him and his 13 year old brother off in the hands of 'agents' who will assist the journey across Europe to Italy. This is a page turner in a way that is difficult to comprehend. Gulwali is clearly destined to be a champion for the cause of refugees and hopefully an instrument for change for good in his home country. I applaud him in the highest way possible and wish him all the best.