The Secret Sky - A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan

An eye-opening and “heartwarming” (VOYA) novel of love, honor, and betrayal from veteran foreign news correspondent, Atia Abawi.

“This powerful love story will leave you angry at injustice, and awed by courage. It shocks and inspires.”—Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent, BBC

Fatima is a Hazara girl. She was raised to be obedient, to be dutiful, and to honor the traditions of her family, her village, and her religion.

Samiullah is a Pashtun boy. He was raised to be a landowner, to increase his family’s power, and to defend the traditions of his tribe, his village and his religion.

Fatima and Samiullah were not meant to fall in love. But they do.

The story that follows shows both the beauty and the violence in current-day Afghanistan as Fatima and Samiullah fight their families, their cultures, and the Taliban to stay together.

Of Afghan descent herself, Atia Abawi spent almost five years as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan and based this story on people she met during her time there.