The Last Free Women

A Daring Escape from Afghanistan and Coming of Age in America

Hardback

Variants

by Rebecca Blumenstein, Diana Kapp

$30.00

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The extraordinary account of The New York Times's effort to save hundreds of lives during the 2021 Afghanistan evacuation, highlighting four exceptional young women who, having escaped the fate of their fellow countrywomen back home, now face the challenges of forging a new life in a new land, a new language, and a new culture.

Kabul; August 15, 2021. It was supposed to be Marwa’s first day back at medical school. After more than a year of the pandemic’s isolation, here, at last, was a cause for celebration. She set out her books and ironed the dress specially chosen for the occasion. But when she awoke that morning, giddy anticipation quickly gave way to panic and fear. The streets were thronged with desperate crowds, everyone pressing in the same direction. The Taliban were coming. They had only hours to get out. On the radio, an announcer intoned the names of the provinces that had already fallen. Marwa had gone to bed the night before with a vision of a whole future ahead of her. Now she had only minutes to pack, wondering how she could condense everything she’d ever known into a single backpack.

Efforts to evacuate the group were taking place as Rebecca Blumenstein was driving her son cross-country to college. As a top editor of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, she had been deeply involved in managing the foreign correspondents the paper sent to war zones. Now, as the lives of their Afghan Bureau employees and their families were imperiled by the Taliban’s swift resurgence, she played a pivotal role in coordinating their evacuation, in the end securing the relocation from Afghanistan of more than 200 people, 124 to the US—the largest privately sponsored group of refugees in modern American history. She then led their resettlement into their new life in the U.S.
Though each is navigating different circumstances and dreams, these four brave, remarkable women—Marwa, Mursal, Maryam, Samira— are united in their desire to make the most of the opportunity they have been given. Stories of hope and resilience, setback and struggle, ambition and joy, The Last Free Women grapples with what America owes those who seek freedom on our shores, and how they, like generations of immigrants before them, will remake what it is to be American.
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Published By Grand Central Publishing

Format Hardback

Category

History

Military

Science & Nature

General/Other

Nonfiction

Political Science

Biography & Memoir

Cultural Icons & Historical Figures

Number Of Pages 368

Publication Date 09/08/2026

ISBN 9781538779002

Dimensions 6 inches x 9 inches

“An absorbing tale…a gripping account of how refugees found peace in a new land.”—Kirkus Reviews

“I’d like to meet them all. The strength, the courage. I am humbled by them. Confronting deep loss, trauma, and the challenge of starting over, they navigate education, identity, and belonging in an increasingly divided America. Together, their remarkable stories explore the complexities of freedom itself.”—Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder & President, Emerson Collective

“In The Last Free Women, Rebecca Blumenstein and Diana Kapp tell the vivid, unforgettable story of four Afghan women—Marwa, Mursal, Maryam, and Samira—whose lives were transformed by war and exile. Their new lives in American demonstrate the power of courage, ambition, dignity, family, and, ultimately, hope.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Professor, Harvard University, host of Finding Your Roots on PBS

“This riveting, immersive account poses a question we all hope we could answer well: How would I have fared—as a refugee making a miraculous escape to a new life, or as one of the ordinary people who answered the call for help? This book is an antidote to cynicism and a tribute to grit and generosity; it simply blew me away.”—Evan Osnos, New Yorker staff writer, National Book Award–winning author of Age of Ambition

“Each of these young women has her own dreams, fears and reason to run after the chaotic fall of Afghanistan to the brutal Taliban regime. These young women, whose paths converge in a desperate escape, have already defied the odds. But escape is not only crossing a border, it is about what they carry with them and what they are forced to leave behind! This story of courage and resilience capture the human cost of conflict and the unbreakable spirit of those who refuse to be silenced.”—Sima Samar, Human Rights Advocate, former VP of Afghanistan and Minister for Women’s Affairs

“The Last Free Women is a remarkable saga of courage, determination and resilience. The group's harrowing escape from Kabul unfolds like a thriller, and the women's pursuit of the American Dream - the right to simply live and work in a free society - is an inspiration. If you want to know what makes America great, you'll find the answer in the immigrant women in these pages.”—Joanne Lipman, former Editor-in-Chief of USA Today, best-selling author of That’s What She Said

“At a time of such demonization of immigrants and refugees, and a moment of much tension between the Jewish and Muslim communities, this book is a reminder of the values we share and how much our historical narratives rhyme.” —Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City

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