Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family (Hardcover) by Najla Said

from CrazyKatLady

This memoir is particularly notable for having been written by the daughter of acclaimed thinker and professor Edward Said. She describes the difficulties she encountered in being raised as a self-proclaimed "Upper West Side princess," while also growing up in a family strongly rooted in their Ar...

from lizamichelle1

Interesting story of how Najla came to love herself, her culture and history. It is upsetting, yet common for girl in particular to feel that they must fit in with the majority. Especially if the only this that visually appears to separate you is the tint to your skin and your name. Being of Afri...

from DNBrown

I have a difficult time with memoirs: I tend to avoid reading them unless they've been personally recommended to me, because I have a hard time connecting to them. While there were parts of Najla Said's story that I found very compelling, the majority of the story left me feeling cold. I think pe...

from gofergrl84

Looking for Palestine is a heart-breaking, funny, and honest look at what it is like to grow up in multi-cultural environment. The author's experiences are something that can be related to by people all over the United States. She brings to light the complexities of the Middle East and how they s...

from Jcambridge

I found this memoir to be very insightful. As the mother of two biracial/bicultural children (now adults), I could see parallels with the experiences of my own children, who have faced similar identity issues from an early age. Her summation of one family trip to Beirut is one that merits sharing...