Part 3: Chapters 15-17 and Epilogue Summary and Analysis

Chapter 15.

As the war on terror escalates, the Taliban begins attacking schools where girls are known to attend. As these attacks begin to impact CAI schools in Kunar, Mortenson finds himself forced to watch from afar as he continues his lecture tour in the United States. Most of this wore on Mortenson and made him feel a physical and mental exhaustion to which he was not accustomed. However, a bright spot in this time of despair was a visit to Washington that brought Mortenson into the office of the highest-ranking military officer in the US armed forces, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mortenson was able to bring Mullen some of the most positive news out of Afghanistan he had heard in a while.

In the summer of 2009, Mortenson...