I finished this book this morning, and the best thing I can say about it is that it makes you think and feel things. What you think and what you feel will probably be different for everyone depending on the life experiences you bring into it. But I truly cannot imagine anyone not rooting with all their heart for some of the women to break free and create a better life for themselves.
I was worried coming into this book that it wouldn’t get beyond the surface, that it would just be a book about life is hard for Arab women. The book definitely makes the case that life is hard for Arab women. You feel that. It’s hard to sit through. But this book gets so much deeper than that, because it makes you feel the internal struggle of the women, the way they try to walk the line between culture, religion, expectations, dreams, friends and family.
I am not an Arab woman; I have never been stifled in any way remotely like the women in this book; my life is really damn good. But this book had me itching to jump out of my skin and break out of my life somehow. It brought to the surface feelings I have about life in general, the constant struggle of how to live in this world. We are at a time in history not only of great conflict and unrest, but also of unprecedented ability to spread news and information. (Incidentally, if God ever wanted to spread his/her message, maybe prove his/her existence, show us a miracle to make us all believe and get us to live a better life more attuned to the ideals world religions all share, wouldn’t now be a much better time in history than asking Abraham, Moses, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, or Jesus and his disciples to spread the word to a few hundred people and a reach of a couple miles? It’s like me writing a message of peace and unity to my dozen twitter followers vs. when Trump spread his message of peace and unity during this turmoil to his 84 million followers. I mean, he has done that, right?) So we are inundated with bad news, conflict, violence. Just today a massive bomb exploded in Beirut. We are also overwhelmed with stories of kindness, cute puppies and kittens, happy singing and dancing. Which world do we choose to live in? If we don’t like the violence, can we shut it out in good conscience and choose to focus on the positives in life? Should we focus on the problems in the world and make it part of our life mission to create positive change?
I bring this up because I struggle with this constantly. But also I see a similar struggle in the lives of the women in this book this struggle between putting themselves and their health and wellness first, but also wanting to maintain their cultural traditions, expectations, reputations. I see them wanting to make happy the very people who make their lives miserable.
Whatever. I have no answers for you on the big questions in life. But maybe you’ll find an answer in the thoughts and feelings this book will stir in you. I recommend you give it an exploration.
Sex And Depression 