About the Author

SALLY ARMSTRONG has covered stories in zones of conflict all over the world as a journalist. From Bosnia and Somalia to Congo and Afghanistan, her eyewitness reports have earned her the Amnesty International Media Award four times over, as well as acclaim all over the world.

In addition to her journalism, Armstrong is the author of several books, including Veiled Threat: The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan; The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor; Bitter Roots, Tender Shoots: The Uncertain Fate of Afghanistan’s Women; and her most recent title, Ascent of Women: A New Age is Dawning for Every Mother’s Daughter.

In 2017, Armstrong won, along with photographer/videographer Peter Bregg, her fourth Amnesty International Canada Media Award for their work in Iraq, as well as the Gold Award for Investigative Journalism at The Canadian Online Publishing Gala for their work about the Yazidis called Resisting Genocide.

In 2019, Armstrong delivered the renowned CBC Massey Lecture series, traveling across the country to discuss how improving the status of woman globally is crucial to our survival. The book version of her lectures, Power Shift: The Longest Revolution, is available now. In recognition of her work, Armstrong was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada in 2019.

Armstrong is a former member of the International Women’s Commission at the UN, and is the recipient of ten honorary doctorate degrees. When not traveling to war zones, she lives part of each year in the quiet community of Bathurst, her childhood summer home, near the spot where Charlotte Taylor first set foot in New Brunswick.

Reviews

“The sweep is epic, a romantic narrative filled with passion, rebellion, adventure, heartbreak, triumph, legacy. It’s a heck of a story.”
–Ottawa Citizen

“A fascinating tale told at a lively pace.”
–Quill & Quire

“Sally Armstrong has done a brilliant job bringing her ancestor vividly to life in a compelling recreation of a settler’s life. . . . The list of well-written historical novels set in Canada are short, but The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor should be close to the top.”
–The Globe and Mail

"Charlotte Taylor's story is what you might get if you crossed Susannah Moodie and Jack Aubrey - a delicious character and a great yarn. Sally Armstrong has imagined an ancestor who possesses all the passion and daring that she herself has in abundance, and by the time we had finished our journey together through the trials and  turbulence and the terrible beauty of the early days on the Miramichi,  I wanted to claim Charlotte as my ancestor, too."
–Mary Lou Finlay, broadcaster and former host of As It Happens

Praise for Veiled Threat:

“A brief but brilliant book about the hidden power of the women of Afghanistan . . . written in blazingly clear language, blessedly free of academic pretensions.”
–Winnipeg Free Press

“Emotionally demanding reading . . . a passionate portrayal of recent events in Afghanistan from the perspective of a committed, feminist outsider.”
–The Hamilton Spectator

“A powerful book that shows how women can change the world.”
–Toronto Sun

“Veiled Threat’s strength lies in its empirical portrayal of the injustices and inhumanities visited upon the Afghan people, especially woman and girls . . . [and] is to be applauded for its emotionally gripping disclosure of suffering and injustice.”
–The Globe and Mail

“Sally Armstrong views Afghanistan through the eyes of its women. Her story [of Dr. Sima Samar] is one of hope and triumph, as are most of the tales in this straightforward, uplifting volume.”
–The Washington Post