Beneath a Shooting Star

In 1971, as a civil war rages in Pakistan, two girls are born in the city of Lahore; Nadira to a Sunni family, and Hameeda to a Shia family. At age six, an outspoken, lively Nadira and her beautiful, shy classmate, Hameeda, are drawn to each other, and they become the closest of friends. In the beginning, their religious differences mean very little. But as the years pass and their society fragments, their lives and their relationship are torn apart by a horrific, sectarian tragedy. Separated, they must experience their sorrows, hardships and joys without the support and companionship they once provided each other. Years later when fate brings them back together again, they have to choose whether they will let the past keep them apart, or reclaim their dreams and the friendship they once cherished.


Susan Harrison Rashid practiced law for twenty-four years before retiring to begin her writing career. Writing BENEATH A SHOOTING STAR was a long journey that began in 1980 when Susan married her husband in a ceremony in Lahore, Pakistan. Over the ensuing years, living as a member of a Pakistani family and annual visits to Lahore provided the background and the impetus for this book. BENEATH A SHOOTING STAR is her first novel.