In Mariam’s storyline, in particular, we learn that biological families can be unreliable. Mariam’s father rejects her, and her mother is bitterly resentful of her father. Mariam also loses her mother to suicide and is quickly and forcibly married to the widower Rasheed. Her experiences teach Mariam that she cannot depend upon her family to consider her desires or best interests. She is, tragically, unable to start a family with Rasheed, and she knows that children would provide a haven from her abusive husband. Laila grows up with a supportive father and a progressive mother; however, once Laila’s brothers become involved in military conflicts, she isolates herself and neglects her daughter. Laila loses her family in a bombing when she is only a teenager and so, like Mariam, is essentially without family early in her life.

When Laila is taken in and married by Rasheed, he pits the women against one another; Mariam resents how Rasheed dotes on Mariam and belittles her, while Laila sees Mariam as bitter and miserable. Once Rasheed begins abusing Laila, too, though, the women become allies; they understand how much they now have in common. The women bond one night over tea and “were not enemies any longer.” Their relationship steadily develops from that point, and Mariam becomes like a second mother to Aziza. Mariam’s bond with the child both helps Laila in the child-rearing, making it more manageable, and provides Mariam with a satisfying outlet through which to express her suppressed maternal feelings. Ultimately, the family in the household is the two women and the children, though Zalmai feels a connection to Rasheed as his legitimate son.When Tariq returns, he and Laila want to form their own family and take in Zalmai as their son, even though he is Rasheed’s biological son. Mariam commits the ultimate act of family devotion when she both saves Laila’s life from Rasheed and sacrifices herself to the authorities so that Laila and the family can get to Pakistan safely. 

At her execution, Mariam is not devastated; instead, she gives thanks that she “had loved and been loved back.” She has been “a friend, a companion, a guardian, a mother.” It is the found family created with Laila, rather than her biological family, that provides her this solace in her last moments. For Laila and the rest of the family, Mariam’s legacy continues. For Laila, “Mariam is never very far,” as she influences and inspires many of Laila’s daily actions, such as her mentoring children in the orphanage, who, significantly, refer to her as “Mother.” She will continue Mariam’s legacy by naming her child after her close friend and chosen sister. In this novel, women bond over common values and shared tragedy, but their relationships provide new hope and a sense of comfort and belonging for the women.