‘Finding My Way’
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Malala shared that the upcoming memoir is her most personal work yet. Describing the book, she wrote, “Finding My Way is the most personal thing I’ve ever written — a messy, honest, and sometimes painfully funny memoir.
It’s a story of friendship and first love, of mental health and self-discovery, of trying to stay true to yourself when everyone wants to tell you who you are.”
Now 26, Malala reflected on how the world came to know her name at the age of 15, following a life-altering attack by Taliban gunmen while she was on her way home from school in the Swat Valley of Pakistan in 2012.
The attack made international headlines and nearly cost her her life. She was airlifted to the United Kingdom for treatment, where she eventually settled and continued her education and advocacy work.
Despite her global recognition as the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17, Malala said much of her personal journey has remained untold — until now. “This is not the story you think you know. It’s the one I’ve been waiting to tell,” she wrote, hinting at a more intimate narrative that goes beyond her public image.
In addition to recounting her personal evolution, Malala reaffirmed her lifelong commitment to championing education for girls worldwide. “I’ll keep fighting for them every day,” she declared, referring to the estimated 122 million girls globally who remain out of school.
She emphasized that her mission began with her own struggle for education in a region where girls’ schooling was under threat. “It has become a mission,” she explained, noting that even as a child she understood that her struggle was part of a broader fight for educational equality.
Malala also highlighted ongoing educational crises in various parts of the world. In Afghanistan, girls and women have been banned from attending schools and universities since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 — a policy the United Nations has labeled “gender apartheid.”
In Pakistan, the situation is also dire, with over 26 million children out of school, primarily due to poverty, making it one of the worst education crises globally.
With her new memoir, Finding My Way, Malala promises to give readers a candid look at her personal life — beyond the headlines and accolades — and continue using her voice to advocate for the millions of girls still denied access to education.
