Ayesha's Gift: A daughter's search for the truth about her father

Description

**FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING PHILOMENA, MADE INTO THE AWARD-WINNING FILM STARRING STEVE COOGAN AND JUDI DENCH** Ayesha's Gift is the true story of a young woman, born in Pakistan, living in Britain, whose life is thrown into desperate turmoil by the violent death of her father. The Pakistani authorities talk of suicide, but why would Ayesha's happy, gentle father kill himself? Ayesha's quest to find the truth takes her away from her safe English existence and into Pakistan, where she is met with threats, violence and smiling perjurers. She is warned that her life is in danger; powerful, ruthless men have reasons to want her silenced. But there are things she needs to know, that compel her to press on with her search for the truth. Was her father an innocent victim? Can she continue to revere the image of him she grew up with, that of a good, loving parent? Or will she be forced to accept that her father was not the person she thought he was? As the two countries she had considered home reveal themselves as foreign and inimical, Ayesha is forced to confront the tormented issues of identity and belonging. When she travels to Pakistan, Martin Sixsmith goes with her. A shared tragedy and an unlikely friendship lead them both to question the things that give meaning to their lives, and ultimately find solace in the common human values of kindness and respect. 'Written at thriller pace.' Telegraph 'Wonderful ... What I find so striking about Ayesha's Gift is that it's a book in which the writer is changed by the writing of the book.' Andrew Marr

Martin Sixsmith was educated at Oxford, Harvard and the Sorbonne. From 1980 to 1997 he worked for the BBC as the Corporation's correspondent in Moscow, Washington, Brussels and Warsaw. From 1997 to 2002 he worked for the government as Director of Communications and Press Secretary. Martin is now a writer, presenter and journalist, living in London. He is the author of two novels, Spin and I Heard Lenin Laugh, and several works of non-fiction, including Philomena, first published in 2009 as The Lost Child of Philomena Lee.

'Written at thriller pace, Ayesha's Gift . . . exposes a terrifying web of gangsters and terrorists' -- Helen Brown * Telegraph * 'Martin Sixsmith, of Philomena fame, has done it again with a wonderful new book, Ayesha's Gift, which mixes autobiography with the story of a hunt to reveal a dark mystery in Pakistan... What I find so striking about Ayesha's Gift is that it's a book in which the writer is changed by the writing of the book. I'm trying to think of other examples of that but I can't come up with any at all' -- Andrew Marr on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week