"It's hard enough to become the best in the world at anything. It's even harder when people want to kill you just for trying." Mary Carillo, NBC Sports Maria Toorpakai Wazir has lived her life disguised as a boy, defying the Taliban, in order to pursue her love of sport. Coming second in a national junior weightlifting event for boys, Maria decided to put her future in her own hands by going in disguise. When she discovered squash and was easily beating all the boys, life became more dangerous. Heart-stopping and profoundly moving, Maria shares the story of her long road and eventual triumph, pursuing the sport she loved, defying death threats and following her dream. PRAISE FOR MARIA TOORPAKAI "Maria Toorpakai is a true inspiration, a pioneer for millions of other women struggling to pave their own paths to autonomy, fulfillment, and genuine personhood." Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner

Author Biography

Born in 1990 to a Pashtun family in South Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, Maria is currently ranked fifty-fourth in the world and is Pakistan Number One at squash. The only way Maria could play sport as a girl was to disguise herself as a boy. When her gender was eventually revealed in order for her to train professionally in squash, Maria and her family received death and kidnap threats, as her actions were perceived as 'un-Islamic'. The Pakistani national squash federation provided security for her home and training venue, but Maria decided it was a safer option to seek an opportunity to train internationally. Maria lives and trains in Toronto, Canada, under former professional squash player Jonathon Power.