It has been a long time since I’ve found a book that is so powerful, so compelling that it makes me stay up until 4am to finish it. That’s exactly what happened with A Thousand Splendid Suns. As a writer, I find I learn much more from reading than I could ever learn in a class. Khaled Hosseini weaves a beautiful, heart-breaking, heroic tale about life in Afghanistan. It was hard for me to imagine how he could ever write a follow-up as emotional as The Kite Runner. He did it – A Thousand Splendid Suns is a perfect novel.
As a woman, it was especially moving to read the story. It made me realize how very lucky I am to be an American, to be educated, to be free. I spend each of my days living the life I want to live. Not all women, particularly those in Afghanistan, as as lucky. And it is luck that separates us, me and the women of Afghanistan. Otherwise we are the same – with dreams and aspirations and opinions and beliefs. A Thousand Splendid Suns made me grateful, and t made me feel like I owe it women everywhere to live a life of my own choosing. Freedom is a gift that should not be wasted.
I love novels because they take us out of our own environment. They force us to live a different life, by different rules, with different choices and consequences. They transport us. There is one scene in the book where a women is being led to her execution in order to protect a friend. At first, I tried to reason every way she could get out of the situation – how she be free and still protect her friend. At first blush, I was horrified at the character’s choice, and then as I lived with her memories, with her circumstances, I began to see that I would make the same choice she did. I understood. I empathized.
I don’t know of a social tool more powerful than story. Hosseini is a master of weaving fictional characters into history, allowing them to share the emotional and human fall out caused by societal actions. He makes a strong case for justice and truth and reason and hope – the very things our world needs more of.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
It has been a long time since I’ve found a book that is so powerful, so compelling that it makes me stay up until 4am to finish it. That’s exactly what happened with A Thousand Splendid Suns. As a writer, I find I learn much more from reading than I could ever learn in a class. Khaled Hosseini weaves a beautiful, heart-breaking, heroic tale about life in Afghanistan. It was hard for me to imagine how he could ever write a follow-up as emotional as The Kite Runner. He did it – A Thousand Splendid Suns is a perfect novel. 
Christa Avampato 