Introduction The personal identity of an individual is a highly complex set of factors that often influence each other reciprocally, and thus they all should be taken into account when discussing a person’s character. Among numerous such factors, it is possible to mention the following: the societal circumstances in which a person grows up, the impact of his or her parents’ beliefs about life and religion; the person’s childhood experiences, both joyful and traumatic, et cetera. The book under consideration. “Children of Dust: A Memoir of Pakistan,” written by Ali Eteraz, represents the story about the growth and continuous changes of the author’s identity, which is largely determined by his Islamic background as well as his teenage and young adult years in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to overview the book’s principal aspects to understand which lessons from it might contribute to a better social experience and personal growth. The Book’s Narration as the Journey of the Author The book is subdivided into five principal parts, and each of them is dedicated to the description and reflection over a particular period in the life of the author. The narration takes the approach which is considered common in religious or spiritual writings and stories: the motif of a journey that explores the individual’s evolution of self-understanding and spiritual maturation. Therefore, it would be logical to elaborate on each of the chapters in particular to understand the experience of the author. The Promised The first chapter of the book is highly significant for the overall understanding of the book’s message as it provides the context in which the rest of the narration should be perceived. The chapter describes the author’s childhood in Pakistan, a traditional Muslim country. Along with vivid descriptions of rural life in the desert Pakistani village and sentiments of the youth, the book offers a fundamental problem, which later will be the controversial leitmotif of the author’s life and search for his true personality. Eteraz’s father made a covenant with Allah, a mannat, that his son would grow to be a pious and faithful servant of Islam (15). In the following subsections, the burden of this promise on the author’s life will be revealed. The American In the second chapter, the author’s family moves to America since Pops, the father of Eteraz is allowed to work as a doctor there. The author, which was given the birth name of Abir ul Islam, which translates as “perfume of Islam,” changes it to Amir. This is the first instance in the book when Eteraz changes his name. These changes represent his growing feeling of uncertainty about his faith and complicated attitude toward Islam, as would be evident further. However, this particular chapter captures the author’s teenage years, and it exemplifies a very typical story of a teenager who distances himself or herself from their parents. The Fundamentalist The third chapter represents another turning point in the life of Eteraz. First of all, he discovers that he is the descendant of Abu Bakr Siddiq, who was the first Caliph of the Islamic world and the companion of the Prophet Muhhamed (229). Secondly, he enters the college in Manhattan and starts his education. He ponders profoundly over his faith, and he eventually becomes a fundamentalist, who sees extremism and secularism as primary opponents of Islam.