As an American, sometimes I think about the effects our war has on those in Iraq. Sure, some would argue childishly, though rightfully so, "They started it!" referring to the attack we experienced on 9/11. No matter who started it though, I think often of those innocents in Iraq whose lives are in turmoil every single day.
Then I was introduced to the blog of Sunshine (not her real name) , a 16 year old Iraqi girl with ambitious dreams, but a life that constantly denies those dreams. Sunshine chronicles life in a world that doesn't seem possible for many privileged Americans. It's like a dark fairy tale, a world that seems so unreal, I'd like to write it off as make believe. Except I'm a teenager now, and too far past innocence to give gratification to my imagination and pretend what's happening isn't happening at all.
As did Khaled Hosseini with his bittersweet novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Sunshine opens our eyes to a life much deeper than boyfriends, parties, and MTV. And for those who find news and press reports of the war in Iraq difficult to digest and understand, Sunshine communicates in a way that takes any reader for a revelation-like walk in her shoes.
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