The Last Free Women: A Daring Escape from Afghanistan and Coming of Age in America

by Rebecca Blumenstein, Diana Kapp (Other)

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 to the US of more than 200 people – 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 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.
 

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 8, 2026

Reviews

[Jill Dobbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2021, as the Taliban moved closer and closer to Kabul, Afghanistan, the Afghanis who worked for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, along with their families, needed to be relocated, or it would have surely meant death for them. The author, Rebecca Blumenstein, along with a host of individuals and refugee agencies, coordinated the exodus of more than 200 people, securing homes, jobs, and schools for them in the U.S.

In writing this book, the author followed four women and their families, giving readers a synopsis of what they endured as they learned American ways. Most important to all the women was the continuation of their schooling. Leaving medical and law schools in Afghanistan, coming to the U.S., and starting their careers over came with many challenges; however, their perseverance and courage to stand up for themselves earned them the respect, encouragement, and support that kept them focused on pursuing their goals.

This is a book about hope and humanity. It shows how accepting and giving some Americans truly can be toward refugees and immigrants who come to the U.S. to live a better life. However, the negativity, racism, and deportations prevalent in recent years show a different side of America. I can only hope that these women are still free to live their lives in these oppressive and unstable times for foreigners.

Thank you to Blumenstein, the publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.