This is an extract from the original review. Read the full article on the The Middle East Magazine website…

Dispatches from the Kabul Café

I know Heidi Kingstone, writes Pat Lancaster. I wouldn’t say we were exactly friends but we bump into each other at certain events and I have always enjoyed chatting to her. One such event was a New Year’s Day party held at the home of our mutual friend, the journalist Adel Darwish.

I can remember being surprised and impressed when Heidi said she would shortly be leaving London to work in Afghanistan. I didn’t bump into Heidi again for a very long time.

In her brilliant new book which fills in the fascinating detail of those missing years, Heidi comments: “There are rare moments in life when the planets align. For me, this was my time in Afghanistan.