The Other Side of the Sky

At the end of her memoir, we have the sense that Ahmedi has filled her father’s shoes and made great sacrifices to support her family. Compare Ahmedi with her father: what are their common traits and how do their differences contrast with each other?

Explain the range of psychological states that Ahmedi encounters after she has the landmine accident. Can these emotions be compared or contrasted with the commonly recognized stages of grief people experience when a loved one dies? Did something die within Ahmedi when she had the accident?

The negative impact of the Taliban on Ahmedi’s life is obvious, but The Other Side of the Sky provides us with little information to understand the Taliban. Given the devastation out of which they emerged, and the further destruction which they authored, what kinds of questions would we need to pose in order explain the Taliban?

What are some of the moments in the US that cause Ahmedi to recollect or re-experience traumatic moments from her childhood in Afghanistan?

Ahmedi’s passage from Afghanistan bears some resemblance to the hero’s journey in various mythologies. In this sense, there is a rite of passage, a set of trials to test character, and a return to stability and peace, with an enlightened awareness of self and world. Identify and elaborate on these aspects of Ahmedi’s story.

How does The Other Side of the Sky correspond to common immigrant experiences?

In some ways, the events of September 11, 2001 are part of the context for The Other Side of the Sky, and the post-9/11 period is generally regarded as a high-water mark for anti-Muslim racism. Ahmedi never mentions it once in her chapters on life in the US. Why?

Ahmedi’s mother suffered from severe asthma. To what does Ahmedi attribute the origins of her mother’s condition? At what moments does the asthma become most acute? What conditions seem to ease the asthma? What does this tell us about the relationship between environmental toxins, work, stress, and health?