TMR’s Top 10 Must-Read Memoirs in 2025
A curated selection of memoirs for 2025 featuring captivating stories that provide deep insight into the human experience.
Memoir
Memories of Palestine through Contemporary Media
Malu Halasa reviews a psycho-social-virtual memoir of Palestine of both emotional and geographic proportions.
The Closed Door—Return to Syria
After 13 years away, writer Odai Al Zoubi returns to Syria following the Assad regime's collapse, aiming to reconnect with a lost time.
Baxtyar Hamasur: “A Strand of Hair Shaped Like the Letter J”
Baxtyar Hamasur has dedicated his life to stories, even wearing a pair of story glasses. “I see everything as a story,” he says.
Flight Plans: From Gaza to Singapore
Palestinian civil aviation is not only a symbol of freedom, but is deeply connected to their quest for sovereignty.
Chronicles of a Boy Manqué
Growing up a "Boy Hassan" in Latakia, Rana Haddad refused to wear a dress and act like a lady, bucking the conventions of her day.
“Culinary Palestine”—Fadi Kattan in an excerpt from Sumud
Celebrity Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan presents stories and recipes from his long experience cooking in Bethlehem and beyond.
A Fragile Ceasefire as Lebanon Survives, Traumatized
Lebanon may have survived yet another Israeli onslaught but the people emerge scathed and timorous, as if from a nightmare.
Beirut War Diary: 8 Days in October
Rima Rantisi depicts the uncertainty and anxiety of Israel's assault on Lebanon, illustrating its impact on daily life.
“The Man Who Loves Ducks” from Freedom, Only Freedom
An inmate in Manus prison who suffers the inhospitable conditions with the rest of the inmates finds solace in befriending animals.
“The Ballad of Lulu and Amina”—from Jerusalem to Gaza
Can Izzeldin Bukhari bring the cat his sister loves to her wedding in Gaza? Only the IDF and Hamas stand in his way.
Remembering Elias Khoury, 1948-2024
A few words from the editors on the passing of Elias Khoury, on September 15, 2024.
Top 10 Books to Read this Fall
Editors recommend their top ten titles to read this season, from novels set in Egypt, Zanzibar, Oman and Palestine to Afghan and Syrian nonfiction.
Ripped from Memoirs of a Lebanese Policeman
True reflections of a former officer of the law in Lebanon from his hit memoir, translated by Lina Mounzer.
Bahar: 22 years in the Life of a Compulsory Hijabi in Teheran
Joumana Haddad tells the true story of a young Iranian woman in Tehran, albeit vehicled by fiction.