I am Malala, or also known by its full title as “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban”, is an autobiographical book by Malala Yousafzai. It has won at both Specsavers National Book Awards, and the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards, being named as a popular non-fiction book and the best memoir. The author is a Pakistani woman, widely known for her activism efforts in support of female education and other progressive subjects. Since her teenage years, Malala was involved with activism, writing about her life under the Taliban to a blog anonymously. During her life, she has tirelessly tried to further causes that support women of Pakistan and has been recognized as a prominent figure in her area of influence. The book, being an autobiography, details many of the woman’s thoughts, her life, her struggles, and events that were happening to her. The first part of the narrative primarily concerns her childhood and contextualizes her desire to be a public figure that voices active support for a particular cause (Yousafzai et al., 2015).
The second part goes into more detail on the rise of the Pakistani Taliban, and the problems that came with it (Yousafzai et al., 2015). Much of the rest of the book further describes Malala’s life in Pakistan, her activism efforts, and the opposition she had to face throughout. I have decided to read this book because I have previously heard about the story of Malala, and wanted to see for myself the kind of work she has accomplished. I was really captivated by the story, and especially reading about the assassination attempt on her life was gut-wrenching. The experience probably was terribly traumatic and scary, it is difficult to imagine how the author managed to continue with her work facing that kind of violence against her. If I could, I would personally ask her how she could keep going after that event. I would have probably never been able to display such courage and perseverance as Malala, and I must commend her immensely for that. I think this work expertly shows the lengths to which people can go to fight for the right cause, and reading it would be an enlightening experience that I will absolutely recommend.
References
Yousafzai, M., Lamb, C., & Sudevī Thâc. (2015). I am Malala. Mindbooks.