Finding My Way. Edizione italiana

by Malala Yousafzai, Maria Grazia Galli (Translator)

Apparsa sulla scena pubblica a soli quindici anni, dopo aver subito un violento attentato da parte di un gruppo di estremisti talebani, Malala è in breve tempo diventata un’icona internazionale di coraggio e resilienza. Eppure, al riparo dagli obiettivi delle telecamere e dallo sguardo delle folle, per anni ha faticato a trovare il proprio posto in un mondo che non sentiva suo. Ora, per la prima volta, Malala si svela in un memoir delicato e sorprendente, raccontandosi con sincerità, umorismo e tenerezza. Finding My Way parla di amicizia, di primi amori, di inquietudine e di scoperta di sé, ma anche dello sforzo che comporta rimanere fedeli a noi stessi quando gli altri ci dicono chi dovremmo essere. Rivivendo il suo percorso da liceale solitaria e universitaria spericolata a giovane donna finalmente in pace con il suo passato, e condividendo con candore momenti spesso tormentati della sua gioventù – il rischio di essere bocciata agli esami, l’esperienza di sentirsi invisibile e l’incontro con l’amore della sua vita –, Malala ci ricorda che i veri modelli di riferimento non sono perfetti, ma umani. In questo libro straordinario Malala si ripresenta al mondo, spiegando cosa ha significato, per lei, farsi strada nella vita senza lasciarsi definire dai suoi periodi più offrendo uno sguardo intimo sul percorso di crescita di una donna che ha preso in mano il proprio destino, Finding My Way è una testimonianza profondamente personale della forza necessaria per essere sé stessi, senza alibi.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography, Biography Memoir, Feminism, Autobiography

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2025

About the author

Girls education activist and youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.

New memoir, FINDING MY WAY, and book tour tickets available for pre-order today!

Reviews

[SH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malala!!! The woman you are!!!! I could not love a memoir more. It was full of honesty and vulnerability. I may not have won a Nobel peace prize, but Malala was beyond relatable. Like sitting down for a cup of tea with your friend who unapologetically gets it and gets you. Cup is overflowing

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for a pleasant autobiographical book chronicling Malala Yousafzai's life from age 20 to 23.
At the start of the book, she is starting her first year at Oxford University, Oxford, England on a full scholarship. Malala became famous when she was shot point blank at age 15 in the head by a Taliban man in her native Pakistan. She had angered the Taliban by advocating for women to be educated. Pakistan is a very conservative country, where girls are married through an arranged marriage, frequently as young as 13. They are then expected to stop going to school and become a stay at home wife and mother.
Malala relates hows she dealt with multiple issues:
Adjusting to a new culture in a a strange land.
Being allowed to have a social life outside of the home.
Being able to dress how she wants, including wearing jeans, something forbidden in Pakistan.
Having to juggle her social life and scholastic work at Oxford. Her first year she she spends too much time socializing and not enough time on her studies. She does finally learn to balance both.
Dealing with panic attacks caused by memories of being shot.
Juggling her notoriety and commitments to her various charities with her studies and family life.
Finally, falling in love with with someone.
Thank You Atria Books for sending me this eBook through Booktrovert.

[Clare Mulroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible memoir with so much heart, humor and wisdom. I’m going to beg everyone in my life to read this.

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful memoir, an honest look at Malala Yousafzai's life. You may remember her as the 15 year old girl who suffered as the result of a Taliban attack. She's taken charge of her destiny since becoming the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and has stepped out of the spotlight to navigate life on her terms.

I think the most impactful thing about this story is that this 28 year old reveals that it is ok to make mistakes along the way and that the journey to finding oneself isn't always paved in perfection.

I was happy to find this book as I had followed Malala's story and was curious about what happened in the years following her escape. I hope she continues to share with those of us who wish her well.

I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful , genuine, and impressive human.

[Gina Dronamraju · Rating 5 out of 5]

STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND READ THIS BOOK!!

I am honestly speechless. I devoured this book because I could not put it down. Malala’s writing style is so warm and personal it felt like I was reading a letter from a friend. This book is beautiful, emotional, and full of honesty. It made me cry on more than one occasion and it made me reflect on my own life and feel deeply grateful for the freedoms and opportunities I have as a woman.
Malala shares her story with such strength and grace, and it reminded me how powerful it is when someone speaks their truth. It is easily my favorite read of 2025 so far. Everyone, not just women, should read this book. It is inspiring, moving, and one of those stories that stays with you long after you finish the last page.

[Brett Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malala’s journey into the global spotlight is anything but conventional, yet she uses that influence with purpose and compassion. This book deepens the admiration I already had for her. I loved learning about her childhood, her evolving sense of mission, and especially her time at Oxford which felt both relatable and inspiring. Her commitment to expanding access to education for girls around the world shines through every chapter and it deserves to be celebrated. A powerful and uplifting read.

[Komal · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
I started Finding My Way a bit skeptical but ended up deeply moved. The parts about her time at Oxford and her evolving relationship with her parents are the most engaging, funny, grounded, and full of warmth. I loved the glimpses into the messy realities of her activism and what it took to build a network of schools in remote parts of Pakistan and beyond while proving herself academically and adjusting to living in a new country. I also connected with her reflections on marriage and mental health—the exhaustion, the pressure, and the slow work of finding peace with both. Malala writes with striking clarity about hypocrisy, describing how first world male leaders who once championed her ignored her pleas to help evacuate Malala Fund teachers after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. She captures the tension of being both a product of global institutions and a critic of them, caught between gratitude and disillusionment. If there’s one thing I missed, it was a deeper engagement with the broader ideological criticism around her activism. She acknowledges the noise, but doesn’t really unpack it, and I wondered what her private reckoning with that might look like. Still, this is a thoughtful, layered, and often disarmingly funny portrait of a young woman defining herself under global scrutiny.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So nice to catch up with Malala as she takes us through her university days and the early days of her marriage. She has not lost her focus for one second, despite the challenges she has met along the way, women must have the right to be educated.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like I was catching up with a friend while I read Malala describe settling into life in Birmingham, then her college years at Oxford, including how she coped with what was later diagnosed as PTSD, and she met and married her husband Asser.

My impression is that Malala is at a place of acceptance and peace in her life. She comes across as friendly and gracious and just one of us really. That's not to downplay her truly challenging journey, but rather to say that I am truly happy for her as she seems genuinely happy with her life.

I loved how Malala describes her clothing for university – “Delicious floral patterns that could make you dizzy if you stared at them too long. Black, ivory and tan were out of the question because, according to her [mum], neutrals were a waste of good fabric.”

Malala writes, “My scarves reminded me of home and helped me connect to a world I had lost. No matter what the misogynists or Islamophobes said, I wanted girls in Pakistan to know that I had not forgotten them.”

I got a chuckle out of Malala's criteria for a possible suitor. She writes, “My knees went weak at the sight of a dark beard, wooly forearms and tufts of chest hair poking out of a shirt.”

When describing Asser’s attributes, “Most of all, I loved his kind and gentle heart.”

Her mum is aghast at the idea of her sharing her favourite wedding photo as “a photo showing any physical contact between a man and a woman, even a husband and wife, is prohibited.”

However, after much thought she decides to share the photo worldwide stating, “I wanted my community to see that men can show affection for their wives, that devotion and love are the highest forms of honour.” Wow! I love this.

“My life with Asser is one of freedom and joy.” She truly seems to have found a sense of peace and belonging in where she is today.

Her final words in this book, “Do not lose hope.”

[Elsa Rajan Pradhananga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her first book felt like a child trying to narrate a life far too big for her age. But this one felt completely different. The writing is warm, honest and sharp with a raw emotional depth that pulls you in. I loved her reflection on feeling like a kite held tightly by her father while he proclaimed her to be a bird free to soar high. I think it's a quiet ache that many of us can relate to.

As someone who spent years feeling self-conscious and constantly seeking approval, the pressure Malala carried in being expected to represent her roots perfectly, even while people back home waited for any reason to tear her down, felt monumental. It’s sad that she needed layers of security and official permission just to visit the place she called home. Yet she built a school for girls there, worked on making education accessible to the displaced and supported many relatives all while managing her academic and social commitments.

Her chapters set in Oxford where she wrote about her friendships, the pressure to keep up with the syllabus and the feeling of being young and free in an elite space offered a window beyond her activism. And I loved how effortlessly she shifted from her own confusion about love and marriage to her anxiety for her employees and the future of women and girls in Taliban occupied Afghanistan.

Her experience with drugs was written so vividly that the panic, the slowing down and memories crashing in felt painfully real. Her therapy sessions and the lessons she drew from them were unexpectedly grounding and honest.

Malala has clearly found her way. She has contributed so much to the cause she believes in and has uplifted many girls. She is a true feminist and she will no doubt continue to grow, accomplish more and hopefully write many more books.

[Ashley 💙]

Pre-reading: I read Malala’s first memoir and was immersed. Looking forward to this one!

[Mollie McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malala and I were both university students playing Among Us in the pandemic and I think that’s beautiful… This was a very beautiful memoir I would recommend

[Sonja Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malala war bisher für mich immer nur eine Figur die für Bildung und Emanzipation stand.
Ihre Biographie hat mir den Menschen, die junge Frau Malala näher gebracht.
Sie zeigt sich hier verletzlich und nahbar mit einer feinen Prise Humor.
Zerrissen zwischen patriarchaler Tradition und feministischer Moderne, zwischen guter, ehrenvoller Tochter und eigenständiger Frau zeigt uns Malala wie sie ihren Weg zu sich selbst gefunden hat.
Schonungslos ehrlich erzählt sie von ihren Selbstzweifeln, dem gesellschaftlichen und schulischen Druck, psychischen Problemen, vom Heimweh und dem fremd fühlen in einem neuen Land.

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful and engaging memoir!
Most of the world knows at least the basics of Malala's story: she was the girl who stood up to the Taliban and lived to tell her story after being shot, youngest ever Nobel laureate, and champion for girl's education.
Now all grown up, Malala shares her true thoughts and feelings about her work, college experience, family, and friendships.
I've always enjoyed hearing her speak but often wondered if she was able to have a "normal" life under her incredible circumstances.
I loved reading her honest struggles with school, being torn between cultural tradition and finding her own way, her complicated relationship with her family, and the very non-traditional courtship with her husband, Asser.

[Marlee Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tell me why I’m beaming with pride for a stranger I’ll never meet

[Beatrice Breckheimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/5 ⭐️ One of my favorite books I’ve read this year, by far! I couldn’t put it down & read it in one sitting (sorry Sunday evening plans). I love Malala and find her work in women’s education so inspirational, so it’s no surprise I loved this (I’ve been waiting for months for the release date). This book far exceeded any expectations I had, though — it almost reads like a novel, with the stories & experiences she tells, woven in with past recounts and insightful reflections, advice, and learnings. I loved the sections she wrote about her mother because you can see the changes in both her reflection and relationship from her first book. I also loved hearing her convictions about gender equity, independence, marriage, and love — this is one of the first books I’ve related almost completely to someone on these topics, which was so affirming to read.

Malala, your stories & insights brought me to tears throughout this read (I probably spent half the book crying) and I’m so grateful you put this story into words!

[Beatrice]

An incredibly genuine memoir that has humor and heart and does not shy away from the "messiness" of self-discovery. As a reader, you might come to the table with preconceived notions of who Malala is. This memoir serves as a reintroduction. Malala explores it all from first crushes to failing exams to seeking friendships to falling in love (all while also navigating the global stage!). I recommend the audiobook since it seems like you are sharing a cup of tea with her.

[Samantha Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Malala is the coolest. I really enjoyed hearing her speak so honestly about the pressures of being in the spotlight (while trying to perform well academically at Oxford), managing anxiety and PTSD, and how awful (and exhilarating) dating can be. I’m so glad she used this book as an opportunity to remind us that she’s just another human, experiencing the ups and downs like we all do. PS - She’s funny as hell.

[Marsha Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have so much respect for the writer that I really wanted to like this book. Did I? Ummm, not so much. There’s way too much time hearing about the utter trivia of being 19 — turning in assignments late, roommates with hangovers, joining too many clubs, and teenage crushes (Does he like me? Does he not?). It’s as if Malala is trying so hard to prove to us she is a “normal” person that she doesn’t realize she is beating us over the head with it.

[Emily Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir filled with honesty, authenticity and vulnerability. It’s such an engaging read - like having a chat with a friend, despite everything Malala has been through and accomplished. She writes about her university experience and mental health challenges openly and candidly, in a way that is deeply relatable to so many people. Malala’s wisdom and humour shines through on every page, balanced beautifully with her passion for girls’ education and her reflections and contemplations about life, marriage, trauma, friendship, love and growth. This is an inspiring and heart-felt read.

[Jadyn Right · Rating 5 out of 5]

i can't wait to hear her talk about this book on friday 🥹🥹

———————————————

220

After sharing the good news with everyone I knew, I collapsed backward on my bed, still buzzing with happiness. That’s when I realized: I won. From the time I was a girl, I had carried this dream of graduating from university, even when I didn’t know a single woman who had done it. I won’t be a teenage bride and spend my life wondering what I could have contributed to the world, I had told myself. I will go to college. The Taliban had forced me out of school when I was eleven years old and tried to kill me when I was fifteen. With bombs and guns, they’d fought against little girls who only wanted to learn, to understand the world around them. There were long periods of my childhood and teen years when even finishing high school seemed impossible.

I am not someone who believes everyone should go to college; I know plenty of brilliant people who don’t have a degree. But, for me, education was my guiding light, the only way I could save myself from a life I didn’t want.

Now, no matter where my life went next, I was a college graduate, and I always would be. It didn’t mean the end of misogyny or an enduring triumph for the right to education, of course. This was a personal victory. Between me and the men who’d tried to stop me, the fight was over. I had won.

———————————————

[Hilary Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️📖 i loved learning more about Malala! Her growth and development was really interesting to read about. It was so fun to read about her experiencing the girlhood we are so incredibly lucky to have in our part of the world. She is an incredible activist and woman.

[Camille Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming look into an incredible woman’s life. She draws you into her world, but I craved a bit more introspection. Glad she found a hot husband tho city girls up

[Liv Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

MALALA YOU ARE EVERYTHING TO ME everyone needs to read this women are amazing

[Laura]

I love the way Malala wrote her life story. From a lonely girl, to a student struggling her way through college, to a young woman figuring out who she is and making peace with her past.

Listened to the audiobook while also reading the physical, but I always recommend the audiobook when the author is the narrator. This way I feel like the author connects you to their story and you can just feel the emotions.

Absolutely loved this!

[Anika (Encyclopedia BritAnika) · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you (or at least when I) think of Malala, you think of her heroism and bravery. You never stop to think how she was such a young girl. Just a teenager. Thrust into the global spotlight. Burdened with the weight of saving girls from going without an education. Moved to a country she didn't know. Still being governed by her small village illiterate mother. Malala is so forthcoming in this story and I was really grateful for it. She, like many immigrants, finds herself not only funding her own family with her speaking engagements, but also family back home, buying homes for them, paying college tuition, whatever her father offers their relatives. He offers her income, as he believes in our culture is his right and his duty. She is 16. She is a child trying to get by in school but knows she cannot turn down a single speaking engagement because that is money that pays her cousin's college tuition. Add in the constant refrain of "what will people say" from her parents every time she wants to do anything a little bit to assimilate to her new home in the UK. The weight of this is unimaginable. I was drowning just reading it. I was not surprised by her panic attacks as she navigated all of this at Oxford. I was also not surprised, sadly, how ill equipped she was for a support base to deal with these very real and scary mental health challenges because South Asians don't believe in mental health care. She just needed to suck it up and not complain. Every piece of me wanted to reach in that book and hug her. And walk her to therapy. She does go and I'm so happy for her. I was especially happy for her when she meets and eventually marries Asser, her very handsome, very supportive partner. The struggle she has getting to marriage and not wanting to give up her independence was very real and I appreciated her honesty. Also, I appreciated her humor. Malala is funny, y'all! Malala really gave us more than I ever expected in this memoir, on top of all she has given the world already.

[Sabrina Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audiobook really felt like a conversation with a friend in the best way possible. It’s funny and sad and a love story all in one. A good reminder that activists and figureheads are also just humans, and it’s cool to see Malala just get to be a person after everything.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well-deserved follow-up to I AM MALALA. It was beautiful to see her growth and how she was still dealing with the intense PTSD in conjunction with getting shot. Malala is a wonderful inspiration, and I found her quite relatable, despite coming from very different cultures. If you read her first book, I highly recommend reading the follow-up. It’s a well-deserved part 2 to a very beautiful story.

[Adithi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first audiobook ever and it ate. Very interesting perspective + so refreshingly real. Free w Spotify premium