Dancing into the Light: An Arab American Girlhood in the Middle East

(Paperback)

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Description

Set against the backdrop of the early American presence in Iran under the Shah, and the burgeoning years of Kuwaits early oil boom, Dancing into the Light is Kathryn Abdul-Bakis memoir of growing up within both the expatriate Western communities and the larger Middle Eastern society of Kuwait and Jerusalem. 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 mothers death opens the door to deeper love and support from other places within Kathryns 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.

Reviews

PAST PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR:

For A MARRIAGE IN FOUR SEASONS:

An often beautifully written work that lays its characters low with grief and lifts them high with the bliss of travel.
Kirkus Reviews

The drama, serene Spain setting, and complicated family relations make A Marriage in Four Seasons a must-read.
Bookbub

For FIELDS OF FIG AND OLIVE:

It is difficult to heap enough praise on this author for her astonishingly vivid depictions of landscape and her ability to evoke spirit of place.
Seattle Times

The skillful and realistic presentation of charactersalong with other narrative techniques, contributes to making her collection one of the most successful of its kind.
World Literature Today

She has been blessed with the ability to make foreignness familiar.
Chicago Sun Times

Her politics are feminist, her theme is human ethics, and her writing is finely honed.
Ms. Magazine

She challenges Western ways of thinking about the nature and behavior of Arab women and men.
The Trenton Times

For TOWER OF DREAMS:

She shines in her ability to penetrate the psyche of young Arab women.
Seattle Times

For GHOST SONGS:

A tranquil and beautiful novel.
Philadelphia City Paper

She presents Arab culture in narratives of exquisite technique, deep insights, and beautiful English. It bids fair to establish her as an Arab-American fiction writer worthy of wide recognition.
World Literature Today

Author Bio

Kathryn K. Abdul-baki was born in Washington DC to an Arab father and an American mother. She grew up in Iran, Kuwait, Beirut, and Jerusalem, where she attended Arabic, British, and American schools. She attended the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, has a BA in journalism from George Washington University in Washington DC, and an MA in creative writing from George Mason University, Virginia. She has published five books of fiction, some of which have been taught at universities in multicultural literature, womens studies, and Arab studies departments. She is recipient of the Mary Roberts Rinehart award for short fiction. Abdul-baki has three grown children and currently resides with her husband in McLean, Virginia.