Dancing Into the Light
An Arab American Girlhood in the Middle East
She Writes Press · Print & ebook · September 5, 2023
Set against the backdrop of the early American presence in Iran under the Shah, and the burgeoning years of Kuwait’s early oil boom, Dancing into the Light is Kathryn Abdul-Baki’s memoir of growing up within both the expatriate Western communities and the larger Middle Eastern society of Kuwait and Jerusalem.
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- Who it’s for
- A memoir of growing up between Arab and American cultures in Kuwait and Jerusalem.
- Themes
- Cross-cultural belonging, Grief and renewal, Family support
- Genres
- Arab & Middle Eastern Lives, Personal Memoirs, Women's Lives
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Set against the backdrop of the early American presence in Iran under the Shah, and the burgeoning years of Kuwait’s early oil boom, Dancing into the Light is Kathryn Abdul-Baki’s memoir of growing up within both the expatriate Western communities and the larger Middle Eastern society of Kuwait and Jerusalem.
Continue reading
Hers is a story of belonging to two vastly different cultures and finding her place within both, and the search to find the inherent harmony in worlds at odds with each other. She is already caught in both the joys of and the struggle to be both Arab and American, yet not fully either, when her young life of promise is disrupted by tragedy. But instead of derailing her life, her mother’s death opens the door to deeper love and support from other places within Kathryn’s family. Dancing into the Light is a story of love, loss, and renewal, and of overcoming devastating early trauma through music, dancing, and the love and devotion of strong American and Arab women.
Between Two Cultures
A memoir of growing up between Arab and American cultures in Kuwait and Jerusalem.
Come here for
- An Arab American girlhood across Kuwait and Jerusalem
- Music, dancing, and women’s family support after loss
Expect
- Early oil-boom Kuwait and the American presence in Iran under the Shah
- A mother’s death, family support, and renewal
Where it sits
| Personal Memoirs | 72% |
|---|---|
| Women's Lives | 69% |
| Arab & Middle Eastern Lives | 51% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Arab & Middle Eastern Lives
- Women's Lives
- Personal Memoirs
- Grief & Loss
Show all 6 publisher categories
- Multicultural Families
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Authors
- Kathryn Abdul-Baki
- Publisher
- She Writes Press
- Published
- September 5, 2023
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Cross-cultural belonging · Grief and renewal · Family support
- Reading lane
- Arab & Middle Eastern Lives