Rebecca

I could have loved this story. I am fascinated by Afghani culture and share the author's compassion for the women there, but I felt like she spent too much time boo-hooing over her own circumstances. She would be feeling homesick or frustrated and the Afghani women (who have bigger problems than hers, such as physical/emotional abuse in their marriages) would either ignore her silliness, or comfort her.

The truth is, Debbie never went "behind the veil" as the title suggests. Sure, she wore traditional Afghani garb, but throughout the book, she insists on retaining her brash American ways, without taking much away from Afghani culture.

Most of the time I listened to this audiobook, I felt there was some major piece of it that was just missing; some common thread to tie together all the little "episodes" (that's how she structures it: one or two Afghani women, describe their problem, weep over it, and move on). Maybe I missed the point, but this wasn't what I was expecting.