博客來塔里班政權2001年秋垮台之後不久，黛博拉．羅瑞葵跟隨人道救援團體前往飽受戰爭蹂躪的阿富汗。羅瑞葵老家在美國密西根，以美髮為業，育有兩子。當年和她一起前往阿富汗的工作人員不是醫師，就是護士或治療專家，似乎比她這位美髮師更派得上用場，讓她自嘆不如，甚感沮喪。不過沒多久，她發現自己很容易和阿富汗人打成一片。而她美髮師的身分一曝光，不僅西方人絡繹上門拜託她剪髮，就連對自己美髮技能頗感自豪的阿富汗女性也上門求教，讓她興起在阿富汗開辦美容學校的想法。
多虧企業與國際人士贊助，喀布爾美容學校順利在2003年開課。一路走來，羅瑞葵受語言所限跌跌撞撞；所言所為儘管出於善意，有時難免越界，誤觸文化風俗的地雷，同時得頻頻應付阿富汗戰後接二連三的挑戰。不過她力克難關，帶領學生走進美髮世界，學習染髮、剪髮、化妝等技巧，讓她們憑著一技之長賺錢分擔家計或自食其力。
在美容學校這塊小天地，師生迅速跨越鴻溝與隔閡，坦然分享人生與心情：包括新娘在洞房夜如何製造假落紅矇騙丈夫；十二歲女童被迫嫁給老頭子替家人償債；勇敢女子不畏塔里班丈夫施暴、堅持接受美髮美容訓練。一個個平凡卻動人的故事讓羅瑞葵深受鼓舞，決定結束在美國的不幸婚姻，並再次勇敢尋愛，投入和阿富汗男子的異國戀。
羅瑞葵以溫暖與幽默的筆調，呈現看似死氣沉沉、實則多彩奔放的國度，並揭露掩藏在「布卡」之下女人堅韌的生命力。《喀布爾美容學校》描述一群女人在燙髮液、友誼、自由空氣包圍下，一個又一個精彩動人的故事。
作者簡介
黛博拉．羅瑞葵（Deborah Rodriguez）
1979年開始投入美髮美容事業，期間曾短暫轉行，在老家密西根州荷蘭鎮的監獄擔任公僕，負責教化改造罪犯。2003至2007年間主持「喀布爾美容學校」，是阿富汗第一所現代化的美容學校與教學沙龍。另外她還開設了「綠洲沙龍」與「喀布爾咖啡屋」。目前返美暫居加州。
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. Well meaning but sometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers, overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challenges of a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her students to become their families' breadwinners by learning the fundamentals of coloring techniques, haircutting, and makeup.
Yet within the small haven of the beauty school, the line between teacher and student quickly blurred as these vibrant women shared with Rodriguez their stories and their hearts: the newlywed who faked her virginity on her wedding night, the twelve-year-old bride sold into marriage to pay her family's debts, the Taliban member's wife who pursued her training despite her husband's constant beatings. Through these and other stories, Rodriguez found the strength to leave her own unhealthy marriage and allow herself to love again, Afghan style.
Withwarmth and humor, Rodriguez details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women who come together and learn the arts of perms, friendship, and freedom.
