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Reading Refuge Book Club: Sola Mahfouz
August 30, 2023, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm CDT
We are thrilled to welcome Sola Mahfouz to talk about her new book, Defiant Dreams, a searing, deeply personal memoir of a tenacious Afghan girl who educated herself behind closed doors and fought her way to a new life. Sola Mahfouz, born in Afghanistan in 1996, faced immense hardships under the Taliban’s rule, being denied education and freedom. 
Determined to change her fate, she secretly taught herself math and English, eventually escaping to the United States in 2016.
Sola is currently a quantum computing researcher at Tufts University Quantum Information Group. In her free time she is focusing on reading and studying different styles of fiction, as well as writing about the rugged homeland she has left behind. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sola’s inspiring journey reflects the struggles of many Afghan women striving for freedom and opportunity.
Watch Sola Mahfouz and co-author Malaina Kapoor in an interview with Katty Kay on the Morning Joe show.
Defiant Dreams is “A searing, deeply personal memoir of a tenacious Afghan girl who educated herself behind closed doors and fought her way to a new life.”
“Stories like this inspire me. Seeing the way people like Sola Mahfouz think about the world reinforces my optimism about the future.”―BILL GATES
