My Three Lives on Earth

Book excerpt: This book tells the true life story of the author, Abdul Tawab Assifi. It is written in three parts. Each part depicts unique circumstances and happenings in the authors life and that of his family. In part one, the author gives an account of his early life, including his schooling and the degrees he earned from reputable American universities. He then discusses how he utilized this knowledge to build his home country. Mr. Assifi climbed the professional ladder, becoming governor of an important Afghan province and then the minister of mines and industries before the Soviet Red Armys invasion and takeover of his homeland. Part two describes when all hell breaks loose in Afghanistan. It is an eyewitness account of the government coup and the murder of Afghanistans beloved president, his wife, his daughters and sons, and other women and children in his family. The author kept secret notes while he was in prison, and he managed to get those notes out once he was released. A daily account of these events, Assifis imprisonment, and the torture and slaughter of thousands of innocent people by the Communists, who had been trained by the Soviet Russian government, is provided in this part of the book, which is called The Origins of the Tragedy of Afghanistan. Part three is the story of the authors new life in the land of the free. It is an account of how the author managed to get his wife and children to America, which the author calls heaven on earth. In this part, Mr. Assifi speaks of the work he did in America and when he returned to Afghanistan to rebuild his destroyed homeland and provide assistance to its downtrodden people.