West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story Background

West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story is a memoir written by author Tamim Ansary. Ansary is an Afghan-American columnist and writer who lived in America after finishing high school. His most famous book was West of Kabul, East of New York.

The memoir starts with an email sent by Ansary to several friends of his after the terrorist attacks of September 11. The email contained information about how Ansary feels threatened as a Muslim in America after the attacks. The email somehow was reached by millions of people and affected them greatly. The story basically talks about how Ansary is having difficulty to adapt as an Afghan-American, with two different cultures and as a Muslim especially after the attacks. He talks about the environment about him and the effects of the attack and the threatening on his life.

Ansary said he started writing the memoir before the attacks, but after the attacks, more ideas came and more experiences were added to the memoir. He also said in an interview that if he had thought about the fact that the email was going to reach this many people, he would have written more, because he has so much in his mind about his life as a person with a different background in America.

The memoir received many positive reviews, and got very famous as soon as it was published. It received a 3.8 out of a 5-star rating on Goodreads. Publishers Weekly said about the book in its book review: "While Ansary's political insights can be detached—or perhaps purposefully aloof—his descriptions of having lived in and identified alternately with the West and the Islamic world are utterly compelling." Also, a reader on Goodreads said: "This book was a comfort because it was not an article you could read in 20 minutes claiming to reveal some big truth - articles like these are so ubiquitous the millennial's internet world. Instead, this book is a full-fledged story about one man's journey towards finding identity, community and belonging within two vastly different cultures, especially amidst growing Islamophobia in America."