The Girl from Baghdad

(Paperback)

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Michelle Nouri was born in Prague but grew up in vibrant pre-war Baghdad. Her privileged Iraqi childhood was like a fable; full of fun and games with her sisters and cousins in the crowded house of Bibi, matriarch of the powerful Nouri family. As a young girl, Michelle didn't fully understand the tensions between East and West that existed in her upbringing - Muslim ceremonies, Christian friends, Communist restrictions, private ballet classes and overseas trips. Her adolescence complicated things as family tradition dictated she should marry a cousin. She resisted - and instead found herself flirting with Uday Hussein, Saddam's eldest son. He invited her into a seductive world of tennis matches and moonlit concerts. But then, without warning, her privileged world imploded. The idyllic city of her childhood was devastated by war, and her father deserted his family to take a second wife. Michelle, her mother and sisters were abandoned and left impoverished. In desperation, they fled to Czechoslovakia, and embarked on a painful and emotional journey between cultures - Arabic, Communist and Western.

Author Bio

Michelle Nouri was born in Prague and was raised in Baghdad. Her family lived through the Iraq-Iran conflict. In 1988 she and her mother and sisters fled to Prague after her father abandoned them. In 1991, at the age of eighteen, Michelle moved to Italy to seek a better life. After learning Italian, Michelle built a successful career in the Italian media, working in both television and print, covering the lives and issues of immigrants in Italy. She also interviews politicians, writers, cultural gurus and sports figures. Michelle appeared as a commentator on a number of international television programs during the Iraq War. The Girl From Baghdad is her first book.