Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I had known Omar since I'd started working in Afghanistan, and he'd always dreamed of living in the West. His aspiration had grown urgent as the civil war intensified and his city was torn apart by bombings. #2 I had been sleeping little since I returned from Sanaa, but my tiredness left me as the scene came into focus: the Hindu Kush snowcaps, the slums on the hillside, the Humvee with its turret pointed at the gate. #3 Half the city was escaping that summer. Afghans were losing hope in their country's future, and were preparing to emigrate to America through the Special Immigrant Visa program. #4 I wanted to go with Omar and document the refugee underground, so I proposed the idea to him. He needed to get asylum in Europe first, then come back for Laila. But while he was gone, her father might try to marry her off to someone else.