Memories

It is cool to have an aunt who is a published author. A Nun without a Convent is the first part of an autobiography of my maternal aunt Ms. Nuha Batchone, written in Arabic and published by Dar Ward for Publishing and Distribution. I read the book on a flight back from Amman, I just could not put it down.

Reading about her chilodhood and early adulthood life and by extension my mom's and the rest of their family in Yaffa (Jaffa), Palestine brought tears, smiles, laughs and revelations.

It is nice to know that they were as mischievous as us, even though their ways differed.

The book brought memories of family members who have passed away decades ago, those who I knew when I was very very young, during my teenage years and beyond. It brought memories of gatherings at my grand parent's house and of great aunts and uncles that were in the back of my memory

Their lives were a part of a tragic episode in Arab History, the start of the Palestinian Diaspora and learning how they coped with the difficulties of being uprooted and starting again and what they have endured and how events shaped their lives and eventually mine brought an insight and answers to questions I never knew existed.

I look forward to the second part, her life and work in Bahrain, that is when I come in.

Thanks Nona