Press Play with Madeleine Brand

‘A Door in the Earth’ looks at the downside of American idealism

In the new novel “A Door in the Earth,” journalist-turned-author Amy Waldman takes an unspearing look at the do-gooder narrative. Her story follows Parveen Shams, a young Afghan American woman from the Bay Area.

By Madeleine Brand • Oct 29, 2019 • 1 min read

In the new novel “A Door in the Earth,” journalist-turned-author Amy Waldman takes an unspearing look at the do-gooder narrative. Her story follows Parveen Shams, a young Afghan American woman from the Bay Area. After graduating from Berkeley, Parveen heads to Afghanistan. It’s 10 years into the U.S. war there. She plans to work at a maternity clinic run by Gideon Crane, a humanitarian and the author of a best-selling memoir. But within days of getting to the clinic, Crane’s story and Parveen’s own idealism begin to fall apart.

Madeleine Brand
Host, 'Press Play'
Sarah Sweeney
Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW
Michell Eloy
Line Editor, Press Play
Amy Ta
Digital News & Culture Editor
Amy Waldman
author

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Press Play with Madeleine Brand

‘A Door in the Earth’ looks at the downside of American idealism

In the new novel “A Door in the Earth,” journalist-turned-author Amy Waldman takes an unspearing look at the do-gooder narrative. Her story follows Parveen Shams, a young Afghan American woman from the Bay Area.

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Press Play with Madeleine Brand

‘A Door in the Earth’ looks at the downside of American idealism

In the new novel “A Door in the Earth,” journalist-turned-author Amy Waldman takes an unspearing look at the do-gooder narrative. Her story follows Parveen Shams, a young Afghan American woman from the Bay Area.

Share