The Human Experience

Memoirs are especially interesting to me because it’s an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes and learn about their life. Children of Dust is a great example of why I love memoirs. This beautifully written account of one man’s journey to self-discovery humbly captures his personal tales of triumph and despair.

Children of Dust is a compelling story about a Pakistani boy who is, quite literally, born into Islam. His father promised to raise his firstborn in Islam, if Allah blessed him with a son. In this memoir, Ali Eteraz chronicles his struggles to satisfy this covenant his father made. The reader follows Ali from his early childhood at religious schools in Pakistan to his adolescence in America where he faced numerous challenges for being a Pakistani Muslim in the modern world. As much as he tried to escape his Islamic faith throughout these times, he finally learns as a young adult that “the covenant was inescapable. It was the overriding imperative of [his] life. It encompassed everything, overriding all opposition. It couldn’t be rejected; it couldn’t be modified; it couldn’t be foresworn” (256). The story follows Ali throughout his early adulthood and readers learn how Ali ultimately finds peace with his faith and covenant.

This book is written almost like a novel, which made for a very enjoyable read. I would recommend Children of Dust to anyone. I think everyone can relate to this book regardless of their race or religious background. After all, the struggle to find meaning in our lives is an important part of the human experience.