Coming January 21, 2025

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A sweeping family saga following one woman’s struggle to protect her culture and her family amidst the backdrop of a military occupation.

In the foothills of the Himalayas, the picturesque mountain village of Poshkarbal is home to lush cherry and apple orchards and a thriving community—one divided by a patrolled border. Aisha and her mother Noorjahan live on the outskirts—two women alone in a world dominated by men. As the village midwife, Noorjahan teaches Aisha how to heal using local herbs and remedies. Isolated but content, Aisha is shocked when Noorjahan decides it is time for her to attend the village school as few girls do. Despite the taunting of her classmates and the teacher’s initial resistance to having her in the class, Aisha becomes a star student, destined for college.

When Aisha’s hand is bequeathed to a local boy in the village, she is forced to abandon her dreams of college. She comforts herself by staying on her ancestral land, creating a nourishing life with her children and husband. But her mother’s secrets come back to haunt her and her marriage and the growing military presence in Poshkarbal force Aisha to make impossible choices in order to save her family and preserve the independence Noorjahan fought for. What follows is a family chronicle brimming with life, love, and humor, about sacrifice and honor, and fighting for your home and culture in the face of occupation.

A deeply moving novel about one woman’s love for her family, this is an epic investigation of colonialism, militarization, and the loss and innocence on the journey to creating home. Spanning 1969 to 2022, Call Her Freedom is a love story that untangles family secrets and heals generational wounds, announcing Tara Dorabji as a thrilling new voice in fiction.

Praise & Reviews

“A compassionate account of endurance.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS

"A stirring debut... Book clubs will enjoy this character-driven drama."
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"Ultimately, Dorabji invites readers to explore deep family love and the battle for liberation amid a ruthless militaristic reign."
—BOOKLIST

“In Call Her Freedom, Tara Dorabji guides us on a profound and transformative journey through the experience of war with warm characters and elegant prose that expose the immensity of loss, torture, and grief, yet reveal the meaning of freedom, the enduring power of love and everything worth living for.”
—ELBA IRIS PÉREZ, bestselling author of The Things We Didn’t Know, inaugural winner of the Books Like Us Simon and Schuster Contest

"This is a dazzling and beautiful debut. Tara Dorabji introduces us to a singularly unique protagonist and a cast of indomitable characters living, loving, and fighting for their homeland in a landscape scarred by violence and the bitter legacy of colonialism. The result is a novel both intimate and panoramic about resilience, family, and unwavering hope."

—ALEX ESPINOZA, author of The Sons of El Rey

"A striking, essential read set against an ongoing military occupation and pulsing with empathy and beauty. Dorabji balances the political and personal with moving portraits of characters who find love and redemption on a ceaseless quest for freedom, despite every unthinkable, unspeakable cruelty hurled in their paths."
—PARINI SHROFF, author of The Bandit Queens

"Powerful and evocative. . . A novel that enables us to examine the longing for freedom within our own hearts, and in solidarity with occupied peoples worldwide."
—AYESHA MATTU, author of Love, InshAllah and Salaam, Love

"In her brave debut novel, Tara Dorabji tells a story of one family under a brutal military occupation. In the foothills of the Himalayas, three generations—a mother, a daughter, a great-niece —draw strength from a matriarchal legacy as healers, warriors, and survivors. Based on real accounts from an ongoing struggle, Call Her Freedom gives voice to women we otherwise would not hear."
—EVELINA GALANG, author of When the Hibiscus Falls and Lola's House

“Call Her Freedom is a mythic tale of one woman's family surviving inside another culture of massive, brutal power. The story parallels conflicts in Guatemala, Nazi Europe, and the Confederate South. Set in South Asia, its prose reads both dreamily faraway and realistically close--a beautiful strength that can only be attributed to Dorabji's impeccable talent.”

— DAGOBERTO GILB, author of New Testaments and The Magic of Blood

“Call Her Freedom is a powerful chronicle of one woman’s life set against the brutality of one of the longest conflicts in the world. This is a must-read.”

—NAYOMI MUNAWEERA, author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors and What Lies Between Us

“Tara Dorabji paints a world of strong, passionate women and their men, loving and living in the face of increasing military occupation. Dorabji is masterful in telling a tale of loss and retrieval of worlds that women have promised to attain despite social and political pressures. Reminding us of femininity so powerful that “one drop of her blood caused the army to leave her village” and she is named Freedom or Azadi as it is named in Kashmir, a region whose beauty and tragedy has inspired the book. Call her Freedom is a triumphant tale that urges us to brave the despondency of our times, and that Freedom is a call away.”

—ATHER ZIA, author of Resisting Disappearances and founder of Kashmir Lit

"A novel that evokes the scent of cardamom, rose water, pine needles, and freshly fallen snow. A treat for the senses and a balm for the soul, Call Her Freedom takes readers up into the heart of the Himalayas, where they’ll meet Aisha, a young, sensitive, yet headstrong protagonist, and her mother, Noorjahan, a complicated woman and a flawed parent-- whose presence and legacy are imbued through these pages like red poppies on a hidden mountainside. With dexterity and exquisite empathy, Dorabji maps the heartbreak of a region torn apart by greed, betrayal and conflict onto a vivid cast of characters--each of whom are unforgettable, cathartic and breathtakingly real."

—NAHEED PHIROZE PATEL, author of Mirror Made of Rain