[photo credit: Pasadena Public Library]
In her new memoir “Finding My Way,” releasing Oct. 21, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate reveals a strikingly different story: one of nearly failing exams, getting ghosted, navigating first love, and learning that role models aren’t perfect—they’re human.
“I like him, Dad. I like him…romantically,” Malala recalls telling her father about Asser Malik, now her husband, who previously served as general manager of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s High Performance Centre.
The memoir chronicles messy, authentic moments from their courtship, including when he told her during an early date: “You’re a sex bomb!” When she later asked to pause their romance to focus on studies, he responded: “I’m not sure feelings work that way. But, for you, I’m willing to try.”
These intimate revelations trace Malala’s evolution from “high school loner to reckless college student to a young woman at peace with her past” — a journey of finding freedom beyond the narrative her darkest moments threatened to define.
While navigating personal growth, her advocacy accelerated. In August, the Malala Fund allocated $3.26 million to support education programs for 10,000 girls in Afghanistan. “We are backing Afghan girls and women who refuse to be erased — who are leading the global fight to end gender apartheid through classrooms, courtrooms and coalitions,” said Sahar Halaimzai, senior director of Malala Fund’s Afghanistan Initiative.
Author Talk: “Finding My Way” with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai will run on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 4:00 p.m. Virtual event hosted by Pasadena Public Library. For more information, call (626) 744-4066 or visit https://libraryc.org/pasadenalibrary/99402. Ticket prices: Free.
