The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans - Hardcover

"Powerful. Unforgettable. Hala Jaber paints heart-breaking portraits of children and families who have lost a great deal, some everything, during the Iraq war. She takes us into the lives of fearless, selfless journalists, volunteer workers, and doctors, who try at great risk to themselves to help these devastated people. Jaber's own quest to adopt two orphan children weaves through the narrative with moving detail, providing an extra, personal dimension. She brings us close to deep desires, tragedies, as well as fulfillment."
-Nahid Rachlin, author of "Persian Girls"
aFrom the midst of rubble and ash in Baghdad, Hala Jaber tells of the devastation of war, of families wiped out and of survivorsa agony and pain. However Jaberas account also shows us a ray of hope through the person of Hawra, an Iraqi orphan who has lost her parents and six siblings. Told through the eyes of a journalist and written from the passion of a woman yearning to raise a family, Jaberas account is not only the personal journey of a remarkable woman but also a worthy testimony to the suffering of a people.a
aMarina Nemat, author of "Prisoner of Tehran"
aFew women will have faced or chosen the conditions and traumas that Jaber has, but many women will understand how ferociously stretched and torn she feels. Personally moving and politically thought-provoking, Jaberas book stares down war and insists on hope.a
aMartha Moody, author of "Best Friends" and "Sometimes Mine"
aIt is essential that we learn from other cultures. Recounting the traumas of war and sacrificed innocence in "The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles," Hala Jaber brings us into this other world in a way that enlightens ourunderstanding of ourselves. A moving and sober book; to be read and considered thoughtfully.a
aYasmina Khadra, author of "The Swallows of Kabul"
aJaber maps the ancient roads of the human heart, where a childless woman longs for a baby of her own and embraces Baghdad's smallest victims instead. The result is a unique and haunting tale. Family, finally, is those who love us, and those we choose to love.a
aMelissa Fay Greene, author of "Praying for Sheetrock" and "There is No Me Without You"

Hala Jaber was born in West Africa and grew up in Lebanon, where her family still lives. She began her journalistic career in the Press Association bureau in Beirut. Twice named Foreign Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards, in 2005 and 2006, she has been honored by Amnesty International and in 2007 won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.