Forsaken by Lana Slezic

Published by House of Anansi Press

Lana Slezic has put together a perfect blend of photography and words to portray life in Afghanistan. In particular, life as a woman in Afghanistan. In 2004, Lana Slezic visited Afghanistan for a 6 week assignment which ended up becoming a two-year stay. Over those 2 years she collected a number of images and personal accounts which she presents in this book - Forsaken.

I fell in love with the cover on this book. The image itself presents a breathtaking mix of the past, the present, elegance, mystery, boldness, hope, and sorrow all in a single image. Rarely has photography ever moved me on such a level and I was really not prepared for the contents of this amazing, must-have book.

Within the pages, Lana Slezic shares a vast number of images which capture life at a basic level. There is nothing sugar-coated in this book. It's an honest and open look at Afghanistan women and their way of life and it will give you much to think about.

Along with the many images, there are different accounts of the author's experiences with a number of women. These accounts cover a wide spectrum as they are shocking, crushing, uplifting, saddening, hopeful, peaceful, and dramatic all at once.

This is one of those books which will change the way you look at life. While I admit that I may be a tad biased as I *love* learning about other cultures, I find it hard it imagine anyone reading this book and not loving it as much as I did.

I would love to see further books of this style in the future.

Author's website: http://www.lanaslezic.com/ (Please do check this out. Many of the images found in the book can be seen here by selecting the Afghanistan menu. If you have this book you will still love the site as there are extra Afghanistan images there along with photography covering other subjects.)