Living With the Consequences of One’s Choices

Ishraaq argues that the direction of one’s life is determined by the choices he makes and how he lives with the consequences of those choices. At birth, Ishraaq says that he is a blank slate, that he could have any future he wants, but “With each neural connection that is made, that my brain fails to make, that is pruned, the futures are whittled down, until if I were alive long enough, there’s only one life I could possibly live” (365).

Tahera, for instance, has put herself in a position in which she feels as if she is an enemy to the American people. After Seema was banished from her family’s home in Chennai, Tahera turned to religion because it comforted her. She decides to marry a man who strictly follows the Islamic faith because she believes...