Mona Hajjar HalabyIn My Mother's Footsteps: A Palestinian Refugee Returns Home

I am deeply grateful to Mona Halaby for bringing the story of Palestine to life. I grew up in an Ashkenazi Jewish family where I was taught a fictional story about the creation of the state of Israel, and where the humanity of the Palestinian people was invisible.I can imagine that it must’ve been extremely difficult to tell the story and yet I understand how important it was to make it possible for those of us who never heard the truth to have the blinders removed from our eyes.Mona Hababi‘s story is simultaneously so beautiful and so painful. I found myself crying several times.I don’t think you will regret picking up this book.

This should be required reading. Absolutely phenomenal, touching and heart wrenching about the past and present pain and struggles of the Palestinian people. I encourage everyone to read or listen to this book.

I really do enjoy reading memoirs because they allow me to learn about someone else’s life. Halaby’s family is rooted in Palestine and the Middle East. Her story, which primarily focuses on her stays in Palestine, homes in on her mother’s past. She intersperses her visits with flashbacks of her mother’s story. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a contentious one. From reading Halaby’s perspective I learned more about her family’s situation that thousands of Palestinians endured. It’s a sobering history. The part I liked the best was when her mother got to visit Jerusalem and visit places that were so dear to her. Witnessing that, vicariously through reading it, was poignant.

This was such a beautiful, rich memoir. Learning about Hajjar Halaby’s experiences as a refugee born to refugees, experiencing Palestine and finding herself connecting to her homeland was such a pleasure to read. Seeing her working with students at the RFS school to teach them about conflict resolution and how to give yourself power when it is often stripped away from you, and how those lessons came to her as she lives in the West Bank was absolutely incredible. The letters from her mother about her life in Palestine before the Nakba was incredible and heartbreaking. A really great story for those trying to understand what is happening to Palestinians.

WOW! Just WOW I never write reviews but this one had to be done! My heart cries, my tongue taste and my nose smells Palestine! Mona articulates in the most simple way the way many Palestinian Americans feel. So much so that I, a Palestinian American saw my younger self in the words of this book. Her connection to her Mother hits home and the courage of her journey is inspiring. She took me to the Palestine my Mom knew and for that this book is near and dear to me. I felt it when she described “welcome to my country!” And she spoke for me when she said she felt like the “other” in the US. So many thoughts so many questions and so much love I have for this author who put so much of how I feel and scared to say in this book. A MUST READ!!!

To anyone who is looking for more insight as to what how/what the Palestinian people have gone through, this is a must read! Mona does a beautiful job on telling her mom’s story as she learns more about her families past as well as herself. Highly recommend!

I loved this book. It made me sad but also calmed me. The writers words are moving and lyrical. I am grateful that she shared her family’s story and her journey to integrate the aspects of her life that are painful and full of loss. I recommend this to anyone who wishes to know more about the Middle East and family.

The daughter of an Arab from British Mandate Palestine thinks she and her mother are the first and only people to have fled a war zone that the Arabs of Palestine started and lost, while their leaders told them to flee for a couple of hours or days while the local Arab guerrillas and invading Arab armies would slaughter the Jews of Palestine. A book of fiction, full of misrepresentations and misinformation. Skip it.

Loved it

I have been completely absorbed in this book. I have only re-read a book twice in my entire life, but I fully intend to read this one again. The journeys, turmoil, sadness, heartache the Palestinian people have endured over the years. Their homes, land, lives lost, families separated. People not ever being able to return to their homeland. This book is so well written it makes you feel as though you are walking with the author through the streets, experiencing this very difficult journey by her side.Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.It will stay with me for a very long time

パレスチナの家を泣く泣く離れたお母さんの思い出を通じて、帰れないパレスチナの家を想い、ナクバを思い、パレスチナに今も残る人々と、学校で教師として働くことで。心を通わせる実話。パレスチナ難民や、虐殺された人を単なる数字ではなく、血の通った人と認識し共感するための素晴らしい本だと思います。

I've ordered from Rarewaves UK previously ( more than once. )Each time my purchase arrives, well before the estimated delivery predicted and in perfect condition.Consistently high quality items delivered with reliable care and professionalism .

This is a great book for the Palestinian history and it gives a good start for the history for those who are learning, the book has good quality and easy to read