The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human

<p><strong><em>A simmering wide-ranging collection of informative nonfiction. Our verdict: Get it.</em></strong> -- Kirkus Reviews</p><p><br></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Two schoolgirls in Yemen skip class and wander into a yellow circus tent. A woman in Beirut is heartsick waiting for her kidnapped parrot to return. A Jordanian man curses his loud ignorant neighbors during a maddening hot summer stuck in his Amman apartment.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>This is an ambitious collection of short memoirs from 35 countries a first-class ticket around the world to make friends with 41 real-life strangers an ensemble that offers a contemporary view of Muslim cultures around the world. Each story reveals a depth of human experience in a way that you can't help but recognize your own. An antidote to apathy in a world increasingly at odds with its own values this book is one we didn't know we needed until we found it.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>In these stories we encounter death and destruction...but we also see love resilience and courage... stories that examine the internal wars fought by many people: to cope with emerging sexuality straight and queer; to gain the acceptance of a community into which one has migrated or fled or sought asylum... the pains of growing up the riotous adventures of childhood the safe and loving arms of mothers fathers uncles and aunts and always the question: what and where is home? Bina Shah from her foreword in </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>The talented writers you'll meet: </strong><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Hanan Al-Shaykh Leila Aboulela Indlieb Farazi Saber Abeer Y. Hoque Kamin Mohammadi Ali Bader Sholeh Wolp�� Youssef Rakha Threa Almontaser k. eltina�� Sepideh Zamani Medina Tenour Whiteman Saedia Rouass Asma Elbadawi Hisham Bustani Noreen Moustafa Samina Hadi-Tabassum Shokouh Moghimi Barrak Alzaid Lydia Abedeen Duaa Randhawa Ameena Hussein H. Masud Taj Neymat Raboobee Mona Merhi Samini Najmi Criselda Yabes Tharik Hussain Marina Reza Naazish YarKhan Wasan Qasim Shiraza Ibrahim Fatima Muhammed Amika Elfendi Salahdin Imam Wardah Abbas Shirazuddin Siddiqi Samia Ahmed Erda�� G��knar Summi Siddiqui and Amira Pierce.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>A collection that throbs with an authentic earnest vulnerability. It is more soul-baring dinner conversations with fascinating strangers than a detached observation piece. -Amanda Chin</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Each story is raw and beautifully written. This anthology is worthy of applause. -Valerie Joy</strong></p>