About this item
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–as doctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea was born. With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the Kabul Beauty School welcomed its first class in 2003.
About the Author
Deborah Rodriguez is a hairdresser, motivational speaker and author of the bestselling memoir The Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil. She spent five years teaching and later directing the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan. Rodriguez also owned the Oasis Salon and the Cabul Coffee House and is the founder of Oasis Rescue, a nonprofit organization that provides help to women in troubled, post conflict and economically depressed areas. This organization also helps build a bridge from where they are to where they want to be in regards to the art of hairdressing.
She currently owns and operates a spa in Mexico and is working on a new book, The House at Carnival Street, an intimate account of her journey to remake her life after being forced to leave Afghanistan.
Her first novel, The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, is an international best seller.
