Little Women of Baghlan: The Story of a Nursing School for Girls in Afghanistan, the Peace Corps, and Life Before the Taliban - Softcover

Fox, Susan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1935925210 ISBN 13: 9781935925217

Publisher: Peace Corps Writers, 2013

Synopsis

Little Women of Baghlan is the true account of an ordinary young woman who answers the call to service and adventure during an extraordinary time in world history. Her story rivals the excitement, intrigue, and suspense of any novel, unfolding against the backdrop of changing social mores, the Cold War, the Peace Corps, and a country at the crossroads of China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. When John F. Kennedy, delivers a speech in the Senate Chambers on a hot July day in 1957, a young girl named Joanne Carter listens from the Senate gallery. Ten years later Kennedy has been assassinated and America is mired in the Vietnam War. Jo remembers Kennedy's words and is inspired to join the Peace Corps. She flies into Afghanistan on March 21, 1968. From her plane window, the Hindu Kush Mountains appear desolate and barren, not unlike the surface of the moon. On the ground, Kabul explodes into color and sound. Taxis honk. Busses spew diesel fumes, sharing traffic lanes with donkeys and camels. The air is infused with the aroma of wool, dust, and dung. As the Volunteers tour the Blue Mosque in Mazar-e Sharif, three Russian MIGS buzz the courtyard, foreshadowing the Soviet invasion of 1989. With co-workers Nan and Mary, Jo starts a school of nursing for Afghan girls. The students are almost non-literate. The hospital lacks equipment, trained doctors, and a reliable source of water. Babies routinely expire from poor delivery practices. On Christmas Eve 1968, Jo walks the frozen mud streets of Baghlan. Overhead, the Apollo 8 astronauts orbit the moon. In January, the women travel on vacation to India, prompting the Peace Corps director in Kabul to dub them the "Little Women of Baghlan." They make a stop at Peshawar Air Base in Pakistan, and Jo attracts the attention of a handsome, charismatic airman. When they return, Jo reflects on the paradox that is Afghanistan. The Afghans are mired in poverty, yet generous to the point of embarrassment. The men are welcoming and soli

About this title

About the Author

Susan Fox has worked as a technical writer for a major consulting firm in the Chicago area, and is a member of the Literary Writers Network, currently serving as senior editorial assistant for their online publication, 10,000 Tons of Black Ink. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a nursing degree, and a certificate in technical writing from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Fox has been a keynote speaker at The Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, hosted by Dr. Michael Spath, and has read excerpts from her book at one of Chicago’s premier independent book stores, the Book Cellar. The opening pages of the book recently took honors in the nonfiction category at the Writers’ Institute in Madison, Wisconsin. Susan works at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee, Illinois, serves on the Human Rights Committee for Good Shepherd Manor in Momence, Illinois, and is a member of the Kankakee Valley Wind Ensemble. She lives in Momence with her husband Ken.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peace Corps Writers
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1935925210
• ISBN 13: 9781935925217
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368