In the Wars: An uplifting, life-enhancing autobiography, a poignant story of the power of resilience

For readers of War Doctor and Educated, a doctor’s story of grit and resilience, from the war-torn streets of Kabul to saving lives around the world.

‘A thrilling and absorbing read from first to last. What a life and what an inspiration.’ Stephen Fry

Born in war-torn Afghanistan, Waheed Arian’s earliest memories are of bombs. Fleeing the conflict with his family, he spent much of his childhood in refugee camps in Pakistan, living sometimes ten to a room without basic sanitation or access to education. After he contracted tuberculosis, his first-hand experience of the power of medicine inspired Waheed to dedicate his life to heaing others. But how does a boy with nothing hope to become a doctor? Waheed largely taught himself, from textbooks bought from street-sellers, and learned English from the BBC World Service. Smuggled to the UK at fifteen with just $100 in his pocket, he found a job in a shop. He was advised to set his sights on becoming a taxi driver. But the boy from Kabul had bigger ambitions. He studied all hours and was accepted to read medicine at Cambridge University, Imperial College and Harvard, and went on to become a doctor in the NHS. In 2015 he founded Arian Teleheal, a pioneering global charity that connects doctors in war zones and low-resource countries with their counterparts in the US, UK, Europe and Australia. Together, learning from each other, they save and change lives - the lives of millions of people just like Waheed.