Short Synopsis
The true story of how the nineteenth child of a tribal leader overcame poverty and prejudice to become Afghanistan's first female Parliament speaker.

Full Synopsis
The nineteenth daughter of a local village leader in rural Afghanistan, Fawzia Koofi was left to die in the sun after birth by her mother. But she survived, and perseverance in the face of extreme hardship has defined her life ever since. Despite the abuse of her family, the exploitative Russian and Taliban regimes, the murders of her father and brother, and numerous attempts on her life, she rose to become the first Afghani woman Parliament speaker. Here, she shares her amazing story, punctuated by a series of poignant letters she wrote to her two daughters before each political trip—letters describing the future and freedoms she dreamed of for them and for all the women of Afghanistan.

Her story movingly captures the political and cultural moment in Afghanistan, a country caught between the hope of progress and the bitter truth of history.

"Highlighting the resilience, values, and culture of the Afghan people, this moving narrative provides an evocative portrait of a battered country as it pleads with the worlds powers not to abandon the fight and risk the government's fragile stability." ---Publishers Weekly

"An affecting inside look at the making of an Afghan woman leader." ---Kirkus

"One of the country's most outspoken democracy activists . . . Koofi describes unflinchingly the wreckage she witnessed at the hands of Afghans of all ideologies and clans." ---The Globe and Mail

"A gripping account of survival against the odds. A sometimes brutal and shocking read, The Favored Daughter is never anything less than inspiring." ---Andrea Busfield, author of Born Under a Million Shadows

"Narrator Emily
Durante matches the tone of the text by
calmly reciting the struggles of a female,
the family deaths, and the brutal hardships
Koofi has suffered." ---Library Journal Audio Review

New York Times Bestseller

Library Journal Audio