Between the Head and the Hands

(Paperback)

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After leaving home following a confrontation with his mother about his sexuality, Michael spends the next several years of his life searching for belonging but finding only toxic relationships and instability until he redefines family and security for himself.

The candid story of a young man abandoned by his family and religion and left searching for identity in an unfamiliar world

When Michael Dawouk is disowned by his Muslim family for being gay, he turns his back on the religion and culture he grew up with. He is forced out onto the street, only to be taken in by a former high school teacher who offers him room and board in exchange for sex. With no other choice, he takes the offer.

Michael is soon left with nothing left to believe in, until he meets Wyatt, a successful Texan businessman who takes him under his wing. But what Michael cant see is that his mentor is just as lost as he is. Searching for the connection and belonging he lost when he left home, Michael loses himself in temporary nights of intrigue and sex, until he begins to crave a kinder form of love.

Author Bio

James Chaarani's work has appeared in Cond Nast's Them, CBC News, Slate, and Vice. The Toronto, Ontario, resident was selected for Lambda Literary's Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices in Los Angeles, where he worked on this novel under the mentorship of gay literary icon Andrew Holleran.