Hands at Work: Stitches of Childhood from Afghanistan by Ahmad Shah Karimi is a powerful portrait of childhood told through the ordinary moments of work, play, family, creativity, and survival in Afghanistan.
From stealing apples beneath the moonlight and making birds from clay to changing oil in a repair shop, watching clothes being sewn, shoes being repaired, and halwa prepared for Eid, Ahmad Shah captures childhood through vivid details and the skills learned by watching the hands of those around him.
But everyday life also exists alongside violence, danger, difficult choices, and the desire for a different future. When Ahmad Shah secretly sells poplar trees to find the means to leave for Kabul, childhood begins to give way to a much larger journey.
A 2026 Doxumentale Berlin Non-Fiction Book Award nominee, Hands at Work is perfect for readers drawn to memoir, Afghanistan, childhood stories, cultural identity, resilience, migration, and deeply human nonfiction—a moving reminder of how work, play, beauty, and hardship can exist side by side.
— John Rinaldo, The Positive Pen
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