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A Memoir
by Faleeha Hassan
An intimate memoir about coming of age in a tight-knit working-class family during Iraq's seemingly endless series of wars.
Faleeha Hassan became intimately acquainted with loss and fear while growing up in Najaf, Iraq. Now, in a deeply personal account of her life, she remembers those she has loved and lost.
As a young woman, Faleeha hated seeing her father and brother go off to fight, and when she needed to reach them, she broke all the rules by traveling alone to the war's front lines―just one of many shocking and moving examples of her resilient spirit. Later, after building a life in the US, she realizes that she will coexist with war for most of the years of her life and chooses to focus on education for herself and her children. In a world on fire, she finds courage, compassion, and a voice.
A testament to endurance and a window into unique aspects of life in the Middle East, Faleeha's memoir offers an intimate perspective on something wars can't touch―the loving bonds of family.
"An Iraqi poet depicts her wrenching childhood and coming-of-age under her country's series of debilitating wars...Throughout, Hassan renders her harrowing experiences in an authentic, heartfelt manner, offering important testimony of personal and national courage." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Iraqi poet Hassan (A Butterfly's Voice) revisits a lifetime defined by war in this devastating and gorgeous work...While a sobering narrative, Hassan's intelligence and resilience combine to yield an incredibly powerful look at the ripple effects of warfare. Her poignant tale of survival is one that readers won't soon forget." - Publishers Weekly
"Faleeha Hassan, 'the Maya Angelou of Iraq,' wields a mighty pen." - Oprah.com
This information about War and Me was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Faleeha Hassan is a poet, playwright, writer, teacher, and editor who earned her master's degree in Arabic literature and has published twenty-five books. A nominee for both the Pulitzer and Pushcart Prizes, she is the first woman to write poetry for children in Iraq. Her poems have been translated into twenty-one languages, and she has received numerous awards throughout the Middle East. Hassan is a member of the Iraq Literary Women's Association, the Sinonu Association in Denmark, the Society of Poets Beyond Limits, and Poets of the World Community. Born in Iraq, she now resides in the United States.
William Maynard Hutchins has translated many works of Arabic literature into English, including (for Amazon Crossing) Mortada Gzar's memoir, I'm in Seattle, Where Are You?, which was long-listed for the PEN Translation Prize for 2022. Hutchins holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Chicago and has taught in numerous institutions, starting in Sidon, Lebanon. He is now a professor emeritus at Appalachian State University in North Carolina.
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