Copyright Parade
Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education who became the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate in 2014 and the youngest-ever United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2017, is on her way to the U.S. and Canada this week on the North American leg of her book tour for Finding My Way, her latest New York Times Best Seller. Yousafzai gained international attention after surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban in 2012. She bravely spoke out against their ban on girls’ education and has since co-founded the Malala Fund, which aims to support the more than 122 million girls who are out of school. The fund does so by “[challenging] systemic rollbacks in gender equality and girls’ rights that keep or push girls out of school” and “[confronting] unjust global financing systems that prevent lower-income countries from investing in their own education systems,” according to the website. Yousafzai has authored or co-authored several books before, including I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (2013) and We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World (2019). Her most recent New York Times Best Seller, Finding My Way, which was just published in late October, is a “book about the loneliest time in [her] life,” she shares in a heartfelt Instagram post. It’s about a time “when what [she] wanted more than anything was to feel like [she] belonged in the world around [her].” Finding My Way follows Yousafzai’s journey as she became a symbol of bravery and resilience at just 15 years old after surviving the Taliban’s near-fatal attack. But, at such a young age on such a public stage, she struggled to find her place. The pages of this authentic autobiographic memoir unveil the story of her—as told by her—beyond the headlines and the dark times that threatened not only her life, but also her narrative. It shares stories of friendships, her first love, and self-discovery—from high school and college through young adulthood. And it doesn’t hold back, reminding us that real role models are real people. “If my book has helped you feel less alone, that’s what matters most to me,” she writes on Instagram. Now, Yousafzai is making her way to North America on her book tour to help more readers feel less alone. She kicks off in Canada with a stop in Toronto on November 7 before making her way to Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle.
