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myinfinitetbr 's review for:
I'll Tell You When I'm Home
by Hala Alyan
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
**I don't like rating memoirs but still want to boost. The star rating reflects my reading experience, not content.
I fell in love with Hala's writing in The Arsonists' City, and all over again in Salt Houses and her books of poetry. I'll Tell You When I'm Home is her memoir - just as beautiful as her other works, and deeply personal.
She writes about her infertility journey and ultimately, her decision to have a baby via surrogate. As her baby is carried by someone else, she meditates on her upbringing, a daughter to Palestinian parents by born in the US, she lived in Gaza, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, and Canada before returning to the US.
The idea of "home" is central to the story as she prepares to bring her daughter into the world and make her a home, while the concept in her experience is... complicated. She reflects on exile and displacement, safety, and longing for a home that no longer exists.
Her story is multi-layered and full of metaphor. I loved all of it of course, but I related most to her thoughts on becoming a mother, of feeling inadequate.
🎧 Narrated by Hala Alyan herself - I loved listening to her tell her own story, in the intended rhythm of her gorgeous prose.
I was grateful to have a physical copy on hand though, as the format jumps around often.
Thanks to Avid Reader Press and Simon Audio for the gifted copies!
I fell in love with Hala's writing in The Arsonists' City, and all over again in Salt Houses and her books of poetry. I'll Tell You When I'm Home is her memoir - just as beautiful as her other works, and deeply personal.
She writes about her infertility journey and ultimately, her decision to have a baby via surrogate. As her baby is carried by someone else, she meditates on her upbringing, a daughter to Palestinian parents by born in the US, she lived in Gaza, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, and Canada before returning to the US.
The idea of "home" is central to the story as she prepares to bring her daughter into the world and make her a home, while the concept in her experience is... complicated. She reflects on exile and displacement, safety, and longing for a home that no longer exists.
Her story is multi-layered and full of metaphor. I loved all of it of course, but I related most to her thoughts on becoming a mother, of feeling inadequate.
🎧 Narrated by Hala Alyan herself - I loved listening to her tell her own story, in the intended rhythm of her gorgeous prose.
I was grateful to have a physical copy on hand though, as the format jumps around often.
Thanks to Avid Reader Press and Simon Audio for the gifted copies!