Description
Queer. Muslim. Arab American. A proudly Fat femme. Randa Jarrar is all of these things. In this exuberant, defiant and introspective memoir of a cross-country road trip, she explores how to claim joy in an unraveling and hostile America (The New York Times Book Review).
Randa Jarrar is a fearless voice of dissent who has been called politically incorrect (Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times). As an American raised for a time in Egypt, and finding herself captivated by the story of a celebrated Egyptian belly dancer's journey across the United States in the 1940s, she sets off from her home in California to her parents' in Connecticut. Coloring this road trip are journeys abroad and recollections of a life lived with daring. Reclaiming her autonomy after a life of survival--domestic assault as a child, and later, as a wife; threats and doxxing after her viral tweet about Barbara Bush--Jarrar offers a bold look at domestic violence, single motherhood, and sexuality through the lens of the punished-yet-triumphant body. On the way, she schools a rest-stop racist, destroys Confederate flags in the desert, and visits the Chicago neighborhood where her immigrant parents first lived. Hailed as one of the finest writers of her generation (Laila Lalami), Jarrar delivers a euphoric and critical, funny and profound memoir that will speak to anyone who has felt erased, asserting: I am here. I am joyful.
Author: Randa Jarrar
Publisher: Catapult
Published: 02/02/2021
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.87lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.00d
ISBN13: 9781948226585
ISBN10: 1948226588
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | LGBTQ+
- Social Science | Feminism & Feminist Theory
- Travel | United States | General
Randa Jarrar is a fearless voice of dissent who has been called politically incorrect (Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times). As an American raised for a time in Egypt, and finding herself captivated by the story of a celebrated Egyptian belly dancer's journey across the United States in the 1940s, she sets off from her home in California to her parents' in Connecticut. Coloring this road trip are journeys abroad and recollections of a life lived with daring. Reclaiming her autonomy after a life of survival--domestic assault as a child, and later, as a wife; threats and doxxing after her viral tweet about Barbara Bush--Jarrar offers a bold look at domestic violence, single motherhood, and sexuality through the lens of the punished-yet-triumphant body. On the way, she schools a rest-stop racist, destroys Confederate flags in the desert, and visits the Chicago neighborhood where her immigrant parents first lived. Hailed as one of the finest writers of her generation (Laila Lalami), Jarrar delivers a euphoric and critical, funny and profound memoir that will speak to anyone who has felt erased, asserting: I am here. I am joyful.
Author: Randa Jarrar
Publisher: Catapult
Published: 02/02/2021
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.87lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.00d
ISBN13: 9781948226585
ISBN10: 1948226588
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | LGBTQ+
- Social Science | Feminism & Feminist Theory
- Travel | United States | General
About the Author
Randa Jarrar is the author of the novel A Map of Home and the collection of stories Him, Me, Muhammad Ali. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Salon, Bitch, BuzzFeed, and elsewhere. She is a recipient of a Creative Capital Award and an American Book Award, as well as awards and fellowships from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, Hedgebrook, PEN, and others. A professor of creative writing and a performer, Jarrar lives in Los Angeles.