The Pearl That Broke Its Shell

Nadia Hashimi

May 2014 · Blackstone Audio Inc. · Narrated by Gin Hammond

About this audiobook

Afghan American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See.In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperon her older sisters.But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century earlier, her great-aunt Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself and built a new life the same way.Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of age? Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive?

About the author

Nadia Hashimi, author and pediatrician, was born and raised in New York and New Jersey. Both her parents were born in Afghanistan and left in the early 1970s, before the Soviet invasion. In 2002, Nadia made her first trip to Afghanistan with her parents.

Gin Hammond received her MFA from the American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of San Diego, she has worked steadily across the country at theaters such as the Guthrie, Arena Stage, the Longwharf Theatre, ACT, the Pasadena Playhouse, ART, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, and the Studio Theatre. She has also performed internationally at the Moscow Art Theatre and the Roadside Theatre in Heidelberg, Germany. Additionally, Ms. Hammond is a grant recipient of the Ford Mellon Foundation for her work on a multicultural anthology of plays, under the auspices of Ms. Ruby Dee.