Grateful

After reading A Thousand Splendid Suns (for the second time), I just couldn’t hold in my thoughts. The book is wonderfully tragic. Being a woman, I can’t relate per say to the situation, but I can relate—I can sympathize with the characters. I will never go through anything as tragic as Mariam or Laila, nor can I imagine the hardships they experienced in the novel, however, I can feel compassion toward them and relate in a similar way when it comes to oppression and women.

The wedding scene at the beginning really touched me. When Mariam glanced from under her veil at Rasheed’s face in the mirror for the first time, I felt a wave of anger. She was forced into that marriage, she was abused—mentally and physically—and she had no choice. We don’t realize how lucky we are that we can marry whomever we choose, that we can move wherever we want, that we can actually meet our spouses before we are united in a life-long marriage. We have the ability to make choices, to make our own decisions. We are so lucky.

Laila’s story was even more tragic to me. The fact that she was so young, and living a life with such high hopes and dreams, only to be shattered, literally made my heart ache. She was so in love and in such a good place with her father until the devastating war started. I cannot even imagine going through such a hardship. Her story truly makes me appreciate what I have and where I live. I am so grateful for the safety of my town, for my family, for our health, our lives, for food and clean water. The book is so touching and has really made an impression on my life. I am extremely thankful.