"This book is a testament to the power of hope and the will to dream in a country where so many dreams have been cut short." —Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of The Kite Runner

Born in Kabul, Awista Ayub escaped with her family to Connecticut in 1981, but her connection to her heritage remained strong. She was inspired to start the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange after September 11, 2001, and in the summer of 2004, she brought eight Afghan girls to the United States for a soccer clinic, to teach them the sport, but also to instill confidence and a belief in their self-worth.

Fifteen teams now compete in the Afghanistan Football Federation, with hundreds of girls participating.

In However Tall the Mountain, Awista tells both her own story and the moving stories of the eight original girls, describing their daily lives in Afghanistan, and how they found strength in each other, in teamwork, and in themselves—taking impossible risks to obtain freedoms we take for granted. This is a story about hope, home, and determination. As the Afghan proverb says, "However tall the mountain, there's always a road."