'Secret Gate' saved lives during the fall of Afghanistan. A new book tells its story

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with author and Boston University journalism professor Mitch Zuckoff about his new book “The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan.” The book tells the stories of an Afghan women’s rights advocate and the American junior diplomat who helps her escape Afghanistan.

Book excerpt: ‘The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan

By Mitch Zuckoff

Homeira

One bright summer morning in 2021, Homeira Qaderi hurried her eight-year-old son, Siawash, out the door of their Kabul apartment. To speed their exit, she made him a promise that set his heart racing: tonight, after school, we’ll fight the Taliban.

The electricity was out again in the middle-class Fourth District near Kabul University, so Homeira ignored the elevator and followed Siawash down ten flights of stairs.

The temperature hovered around eighty degrees Fahrenheit when they stepped outside at 7 a.m. that