Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles

The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman’s Fight to Save Two Orphans by Hala Jaber 2008

The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: A Woman’s Fight to Save Two Orphans is written by journalist Hala Jaber and flows between two parallel lines to tell one story. Part of the story focuses on the author and her struggle with infertility. This loss threatens to take over her life until the events of 9/11 compel her to rejuvenate her career as a reporter. As an Arabic speaker educated in the West, Jaber is in a unique position to report on events from Iraq. Many of her stories focus on the plight of children, and she finds herself particularly involved in the lives of two small girls who have lost most of their family. It is through her relationship with these girls that she comes to terms with her own lack of children and the possibility of mothering another family’s child.

The other component of the story focuses on the events that happen within Iraq during the Western invasion. The loss of civilian life, the chaos that follows the fall of Saddam Hussein, and the lasting resentment against the West by those who have lost family, friends, livelihoods, and security are chillingly documented by Jaber. This book would appeal to those who enjoy biographies, works on global conflict, and journalism.