From Here

April 15, 2023
Grades 9-12 Mufleh recounts her experiences growing up in 1980s Amman, Jordan, all the while concealing her sexual identity as a lesbian. Despite being raised in a privileged household, Mufleh lacked the luxury to avoid her country's misogynistic leanings. Her passion for sports and education was overlooked by society's desire to make her behave "like a girl." In order to find refuge, Mufleh emigrates to the U.S. to attend university. Her newfound freedoms convince Mufleh to remain in a country that is accepting of her identity, rather than return to one that would persecute her lifestyle choices. Mufleh details fears many Arab women commonly encounter, along with the political issues in her home country. She methodically shares her struggles with coming out to her family and coming to terms with sexual abuse. Readers will admire Mufleh's courage to fight for her own rights and her dedication to helping others, an example being her nonprofit organization, Fugees Family. This story is a reminder that we have the right to live how we want and love who we want.

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Starred review from May 8, 2023
This affecting memoir by refugee advocate Mufleh (Learning America) chronicles her internal struggle to reconcile her identity as a gay Arab Muslim woman. Via clear-eyed prose, the author tells of her first crush on a girl, in fifth grade, and how she assumed that “if people knew, they would hate me.” In subsequent years, Mufleh experienced feelings of shame surrounding her sexuality and details, in matter-of-fact-feeling lines, her suicidal ideation and attempts to kill herself. She eventually leaves for Smith College, where she believes she will have more freedom to explore her sexual orientation. But when her coming-out prompts her father to use his political connections to bring her back to Jordan, she seeks asylum in the U.S. Mufleh is both loving and critical in her portrayal of her family and culture. Separated into two parts—one that outlines Mufleh’s privileged childhood in Amman, Jordan, and one that recounts her collegiate years in America—this poignant reflection on choice, family, and living one’s truth provides insight into Mufleh’s relationship with her heritage, and how these experiences helped shape her identity and advocacy work. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from July 1, 2023

Gr 9 Up-This is a must-add to any high school biography/memoir section. Mufleh's story is one of strength and courage, and shines light on the injustices in our world. She says it best in her epilogue: "But now I know that it's the untold stories that hurt the most." Though the story initially begins in real time as Mufleh interacts with her daughter and a strained phone call with her father, she quickly takes readers back to the beginning, in Jordan. The detailed ways she describes her 1980s childhood home, the food, and the people she was around transports readers and makes them want more for Mufleh. In 30 chapters, Mufleh grows up and becomes the woman she knows she was meant to be, but not without struggle. She adeptly balances the luxury of her experience in Jordan with the conflict she often felt as a gay Muslim woman. It weaves together experiences from Muslim faith, being gay and not accepted by family, immigration, and the Middle East. There are minor references to binge drinking and intimate encounters. VERDICT You need to put this one on your high school shelf now, but it won't stay there long.-Samantha Hull

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Starred review from March 1, 2023
A powerful, honest account of an activist's experiences of being gay in a culture she loves but in which it's hard to see a place for herself. Growing up privileged in Amman, Jordan, Mufleh realized as a preteen that she was attracted to other girls. Scared of revealing the truth but grappling with suicidality and unable to continue to conceal her true self, she attended Smith College in Massachusetts, where she gained new insights into being Arab, Muslim, and gay. Her family's connections to the Jordanian royal family allowed them to respond to her coming out by sending the FBI to attempt to bring her home. Knowing she could be executed for her sexuality, she sought asylum in the U.S. Mufleh's raw descriptions of finding her place in the world are relatable: Questions of choosing between living your truth or your family's will speak to readers of many backgrounds. Mufleh clearly loves her culture and her family; she unapologetically describes her struggles without vilifying an entire people or religion. In particular, the cultural details and Mufleh's warm relationship with her unconditionally supportive Syrian grandmother are moving elements in a story that has some dark moments. Mufleh's journey shows that acceptance and reconciliation are possible and that those we love can grow and learn. Her account of founding the Fugees Family, a nonprofit supporting refugee and immigrant youth, models using one's own struggles to uplift others. A poignant glimpse into human imperfections and the struggle to find one's place in the world. (Memoir. 14-18)

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