For the Love of a Son: One Afghan Woman's Quest for Her Stolen Child

Thank You to Paul Hams and Alison
MacColl
    There's are little stories attached to all
important events in our lives.  A few years ago while on book
tour in London, I was fortunate to meet a unique man
named Paul Hams.  Paul is a loving husband to Claire
and a devoted father to sons Robert and Richard and a talented
chef who also owns a London black cab.  Paul is a very skilled
driver who escorts favored customers around London and other
areas in the UK.
    Paul and I hit it off immediately.  He's
an excellent driver who makes life in London much easier for an
out-of-towner like myself.  Paul and I had some fun days as he
was delivering me to various business meetings.   He's an
interesting man with a wonderful family and I adored hearing about
Claire and the boys.  When I had a little free time,
Paul transported me to Harrods and other fun shopping
spots, accompaning me inside the stores to keep me company
while volunteering to help me carry bags.  Paul
and I had a great time and I came to appreciate what a fine young
man he is.  Later he took me to his warm and inviting
home to meet the very lovely Claire, like her
husband, who made me feel a member of the family.
    A solid friendship was borne and from that
time on I knew I'd never call on anyone but Paul when I was lucky
enough to be in London, one of my favorite cities in the world.
    Paul and I kept in email touch, exchanging
news about our families.  A year or so later, Paul sent an
email saying he had met a woman named Alison MacColl while in
holidaying in Spain.  This woman was talking about the books I
had written, telling Paul that she had a wonderful friend,
Maryam Totakhail, who grew up in Afghanistan.  According
to Alison, Maryam's story was very compelling.  She had
previously written her story and had even hired an editor to clean
it up; yet the book failed to interest
publishers.  Alison said that it was a great
disappointment to all that the book remained
unpublished.  Alison had the idea that I would be the perfect
writer to make Maryam's dream come true.  That's when Paul
told an astonished Allison that he and I were
friends.  Allison asked how she might contact me, to tell
me about Maryam's compelling life and to ask if I might
consider writing her story.  Paul, always protective of my
privacy, said that he would give me a call to see what I thought of
the idea.
    I'm lucky enough to receive five to ten
requests each month from women who have lived through dramatic
times, stories that I believe the world should know.  Sadly, I
can only write one book every year or so; therefore, I must turn
down most requests.  Also, once I have written a story that
takes place in a specific country, I rarely write another story set
in that same land since I take care to write about the historical
background of each heroine's homeland.  At that time Paul
contacted me, I had written about Princess Sultana of Saudi Arabia,
Mayada of Iraq and Joanna of Iraqi Kurdistan and was working on the
story of Najwa and Omar Binladen, which was set in various
countries.  For years I have wanted to write stories
set in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, India and Thailand,
but thus far the moon and stars had not come together for me
to write a book with those countries as a backdrop. 
    Trusting Paul's judgment
completely, after he told me about Alison's enthusiasm for her
friend's dramatic story, I said that he should feel free
to pass along my private email address.
    Soon I heard from Alison when she wrote a
heartfelt letter about Maryam.  Alison was a sincere friend of
Maryam's wanting nothing more than to jump start the project that
as to that time, remained unsuccessful.  After speaking to
Alison, I agreed to speak with Maryam.  It's important for me
to get to know the subjects I write about, to deeply feel
their intense emotions.  Unfortunately, there are times when
there is no heart-to-heart connection and I must turn away
from a promising book project.  Therefore, until I
met Maryam, I had no way of knowing if her story would be my
next project.  Maryam and I spoke several times and I heard
her story from her own lips, as I did not want to read the story
previously written about her.  Soon I felt connected to Maryam
and her family life, asking her to fly to London to meet with
my publisher there, plus to travel on to the USA and meet with
my literary agent in New York.  For those who question whether
my