IN 2002, WHEN my aunt Abla died of cancer, I used my old magic for pushing down feelings—the ones that grieved my childhood hero, the ones that raged against missing the funeral—and applied that pain in a constructive way: to comfort my grandmother. I called Taytay a couple times a week, hoping to cheer her […]
From Here – Chapter 30 – An Ending, A Beginning – Summary Read More »
I left the law firm after a custody case involving an undocumented mother and a father who was a known white supremacist. Besides Taytay, I hadn’t spoken to my family in four years. I knew that when my brothers graduated from college, my dad would set them up in business, give them money for a
From Here – Chapter 29 – Reunions – Summary Read More »
“Muslims don’t kill the elderly, women, or children.” I knew she was referencing the Quran. “They are not Muslim,” my grandmother repeated. A country song the radio played on repeat asked, Did you feel guilty ’cause you’re a survivor? For a while, I hoped the outrage over the attacks would fuel change in the Middle
From Here – Chapter 28 – Guilty By Association Read More »
A far cry from the ragtag crew of the Mountaineer, the Cheesecake Factory was staffed by young people in pressed oxford shirts, their ties tucked into their aprons. After our dinner shifts, we went to Backstreet, a nearby twenty-four-hour dance club, and stayed out—spending every last dollar we had made—until our brunch shift the next
From Here – Chapter 27 – The Motions – Summary Read More »
THE WEEKS TURNED to months, and as I acclimated to the rhythms of daily life in Highlands and got more comfortable as part of Miss Sara’s household, I decided it was time to come clean to her. “Miss Sara, you know that I am gay.” Miss Sara hardly took her eyes from the TV. One
From Here – Chapter 26 – Luma-Liz – Summary Read More »
You just need to get a good meal, maybe a piece of cake, and you’ll be back to normal,” said the driver, who was by now next to us, an ample woman with tight gray curls that she had teased up tall and proud. “You must be Miss Sara.” I stretched out my hand to
From Here – Chapter 25 – Refuge – Summary Read More »
A FEW WEEKS after my asylum decision, I sat on the floor of Dee-Ann’s apartment in Detroit, where she had moved after a promotion. My summer job at Smith had ended, and my parents expected me back by Monday. I knew it was impossible for my friend to imagine—parents turning their backs on their own
From Here – Chapter 24 – Disconnected – Summary Read More »
WHEN I WAS little, a year or so before I corralled Tom the sheep into my grandfather’s living room, I had my picture taken with King Hussein. It was his idea; depending on which side of my family you ask, he either wanted to get a photo with a grandchild from the Mufleh tribe (because
From Here – Chapter 23 – The Golden Child – Summary Read More »
This time I was hungover, still nursing a bruised ego from the night before, when a pretty sophomore with curly hair wouldn’t give me the time of day. And unlike my high school graduation, this time my family wasn’t in the audience; there were no friendly eyes or baby sister to find in the crowd.
From Here – Chapter 22 – Interrogation – Summary Read More »
She used her access and contacts to dig up everything my application would need about the cultural practices and legal nuances of Jordan, to help prove my “well-founded fear.” She visited an organization for gay Muslims but left after unsuccessfully trying three doors, all heavily barred for security. It wasn’t enough to be scared for
From Here – Chapter 21 – Testimony – Summary Read More »