 Some of these challenges included death threats from Islamic mullahs, long periods of separation from his family, and being kidnapped by Taliban sympathizers.Though Mortenson and Relin are given equal credit for authoring the "Three Cups of Tea", it is written from Relin's perspective as a journalist interviewing and observing Mortenson.In the introduction, Relin admitted that his desire to see Mortenson's project succeed likely influenced his objectivity as a reporter.