Debra Denker paints the human side of war that is often forgotten. Denker's riveting novel is more than entertainment; it is also a wake-up call. It asks us, as a nation, to go beyond the stereotypical, cartoonish notions that dominate our thinking about the peoples whose nations we've invaded in recent years. Denker has made an important contribution and her novel merits a wide readership.

—Larry Dossey, MD


Author of One Mind, The Power of Premonitions, and  Healing Words

Love and War in the Land of Cain is a profoundly humane and healing tale, a poignant reminder of the tragic recent history of Afghanistan, the cruel toll taken by the Cold War, and what we have yet to learn. Debra Denker is a brilliant, compelling storyteller, who has rendered a tough and tender novel that moved me to tears with its fury, heartbreak, romance, compassion, and beauty.

—Jennifer Heath

                                Author, A House White with Sorrow: A Ballad for Afghanistan

                    and The Scimitar and The Veil: Extraordinary Women of Islam

Editor, Land of the Unconquerable:

                                                           The Lives of Contemporary Afghan Women

Only someone who knows Afghanistan intimately could write such a beautiful and profound story set in the early years of the ongoing conflict. Debra Denker, a journalist in Afghanistan in the 1980's, weaves a passionate and yet sometimes tender tale of the often tragic unfolding of life in this country, which has been at war since 1979.

I work as Editor-in-Chief for the multimedia platform Voices for Biodiversity, which focuses mostly on the field of environmental journalism. However, I spent a decade of my life working as an anthropologist in post-conflict countries such as Namibia, Panama, and Rwanda. I am familiar with the emotional territory of people and places that have been affected by war. War leaves an indelible mark on its people and the land itself.

Debra's novel is entirely engaging and truthful. Quite simply, I couldn't put the book down. The novel powerfully shows how war in Afghanistan has affected its people and others who came to be there. But this novel is not just about Afghanistan, it also is a story that could take place in many countries that have been or are approaching a crossroads. To read this book is to peer into the heart and mind of possible opportunities for change and choice.

—Tara Waters Lumpkin, PhD

    Founder, Voices for Biodiversity

In Love and War in the Land of Cain, Debra Denker offers the reader a vivid account of life in Afghanistan at the end of the Soviet occupation. The author gives voice to the intensity of the harsh landscape and the complex Afghan people who have incredible strength and resilience along with continuing conflicts and destruction. Ms. Denker tells the story of an American female journalist’s experience reporting in the midst of this conflict. Her story puts in stark relief ideological complexity, tribal and family loyalties, old traditions and warm family ties. She fortunately found friendships that would help protect her during her travels. She even falls in love amidst the chaos of war with an Afghan doctor who came back from America to help his people. Through her experiences, the reader observes the devastation of lives and land that seems so senseless. With new insights, this story provides evidence that only the Afghan people can resolve their conflicts in their own time and way. Also the bravery of this American journalist during that war is stunning.

—Joanne Thordarson

                                                                                                           Photographer