{"id":38212,"date":"2025-09-05T12:43:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T10:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldsite\/?p=38212"},"modified":"2025-09-05T18:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:10:47","slug":"10-books-for-out-of-our-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldsite\/10-books-for-out-of-our-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Books for OUT OF OUR MINDS"},"content":{"rendered":"
This selection of non-fiction and fiction explore themes of mental health in the Middle East. Non-fiction includes Joelle Abi-Rached\u2019s history of psychiatry in Lebanon and Hala Alyan\u2019s memoir on Palestinian exile and trauma. Novels from Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon depict characters experiencing mental illness and emotional turmoil amid displacement, repression, resistance, and war. Collectively, these books examine how mental health and personal identity are shaped by political and social upheaval.<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jordan Elgrably & Rana Asfour<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

NON FICTION<\/b><\/h4>\n

\u02bfA\u1e63f\u016briyyeh: A History of Madness, Modernity, and War in the Middle East<\/span><\/i><\/a>, by Joelle M. Abi-Rached<\/span>
\n<\/span>MIT Press, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

The development of psychiatry in the Middle East, viewed through the history of one of the first modern mental hospitals in the Middle East. \u02bfA\u1e63f\u016briyyeh (formally, the Lebanon Hospital for the Insane) was founded by a Swiss Quaker missionary in 1896. It closed its doors in 1982, a victim of Lebanon’s brutal fifteen-year civil war. In this book, Joelle Abi-Rached uses the rise and fall of \u02bfA\u1e63f\u016briyyeh as a lens through which to examine the development of modern psychiatric theory and practices in the region as well as the sociopolitical history of modern Lebanon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019ll Tell You When I\u2019m Home: A Memoir<\/span><\/a><\/em> by Hala Alyan
\n<\/span>Simon & Schuster, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

In this poignant and lyrical memoir composed of fragments, poet and clinical psychologist Hala Alyan delves into the heavy emotional landscape of exile, addiction, infertility, and generational trauma. Written during her surrogate pregnancy, the book intertwines memories of her family’s displacement following the Nakba, her battle with alcohol, and the intricate realities of Arab womanhood. Alyan\u2019s prose captures the disjointed nature of grief and healing, exploring what it means to reconstruct one\u2019s identity while navigating the complexities of multiple cultures, bodies, and emotional boundaries.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

FICTION<\/b><\/h4>\n

Commitment<\/span><\/i><\/a> by Mona Simpson<\/span>
\n<\/span>Knopf, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

Why do people lose their minds, and where do they go when they\u2019re no longer themselves? Is mental illness curable? To the extent that a work of fiction can contend with the enormity of these questions,\u00a0<\/span>Commitment<\/span><\/i>, the seventh novel by the Syrian American writer Mona Simpson, does a masterful job. The story sets a family in motion over 400 pages, painting a portrait of a mother, her children, and their friends, in an attempt to get at the heart of what it\u2019s like to have someone in your inner circle completely lose themselves to a mental breakdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Bookseller\u2019s Notebooks<\/span><\/i><\/a> by Jalal Barjas, translated by Paul G. Starkey
\n<\/span>Interlink Books, 2022<\/span><\/p>\n

Jalal Barjas, the winner of the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, weaves a poignant tale centered on Ibrahim al-Warraq, a disillusioned bookseller living in Amman. Struggling with schizophrenia and homelessness, Ibrahim’s mental health spirals as he starts to take on the identities of characters from his beloved novels. This unsettling transformation blurring the lines between reality and fiction leads him to commit crimes. Through his fragmented state of mind, Barjas delves into the themes of social injustice, poverty, and alienation in modern-day Jordan. By exploring the interplay between madness and sanity, literature and reality, Barjas crafts a compelling narrative that highlights how marginalized individuals often lose their hold on reality when society overlooks their humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Madness of Despair<\/span><\/i><\/a> by Ghalya F T Al Said, translated by Raphael Cohen
\n<\/span>Banipal Books, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

A psychological and emotional novel that follows Maliha, a Middle Eastern woman living in London, as she descends into emotional turmoil and instability. Caught in a toxic love triangle, Maliha\u2019s mental state begins to unravel. Her increasing jealousy, isolation, and longing for connection push her toward obsession and emotional collapse. This deeply introspective novel also explores themes of identity, displacement, female vulnerability, and madness, painting a haunting portrait of a woman pushed to the brink.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Slipping<\/span><\/i><\/a> by Mohamed Kheir, translated by Robin Moger
\n<\/span>Two Lines Press, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

A surreal and fragmented journey unfolds through Egypt\u2019s liminal spaces \u2014 ghost towns, lingering spirits, and the shadows of past traumas. The protagonist’s personal ghosts reflect the societal unrest around him, haunting his thoughts as he grapples with repressed memories and a fractured identity. Kheir’s disjointed prose conveys feelings of dislocation and psychological drift.<\/span> \u201c<\/b>There are shards of magic to be found on every page of this novel,\u201d writes Omar El Akkad, author<\/span> of\u00a0<\/span>American War<\/span><\/i>, in his endorsement of the novel<\/span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n

You Exist Too Much<\/span><\/i><\/a> by Zaina Arafat
\n<\/span>Catapult, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

This lyrical and emotionally charged novel follows the journey of a young queer Palestinian American woman as she navigates the complexities of love, identity, and inherited trauma across various borders and cultures. Spanning locations such as New York, Brooklyn, Bethlehem, Amman, and Beirut, the unnamed narrator wrestles with her fragmented sense of belonging, caught between her conservative Middle Eastern upbringing and her American, queer identity. It serves as a poignant exploration of self-worth, desire, and diaspora, reflecting a deep yearning to be seen and accepted amidst the contradictions that make us who we are.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Frightened Ones<\/span><\/i><\/a> by Dima Wannous, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
\n<\/span>Knopf, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Set in war-torn Syria, Dima Wannous tells the story of Suleima, a woman struggling with anxiety, state violence, and personal loss. Her life changes when her lover, a writer named Nassim, goes missing. Suleima\u2019s anxiety and panic attacks alongside the author\u2019s simple, indirect language create a sense of emotional confinement, rendering <\/span>The Frightened Ones<\/span><\/i> a haunting portrayal of life under fear and repression during the Assad regime. This bold and insightful exploration examines trauma not merely as an individual issue but as a widespread social epidemic. It contributes to the ongoing global dialogue surrounding mental illness, displacement, and resilience in individuals living in oppression and violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Innocence of the Devil<\/span><\/a> by Nawal El-Saadawi, translated by Sherif Hetata
\n<\/span>University of California Press, 1994<\/span><\/p>\n

Set in a psychiatric hospital in Egypt, this narrative highlights the plight of societal outcasts, particularly women, who are confined under the pretense of madness. Through Ganat’s voice, a woman imprisoned for her defiance, Nawal El Saadawi delves into the fragile boundary between sanity and insanity within a patriarchal and authoritarian society. The hospital serves as a powerful metaphor for political and religious oppression, where dissent is stifled, and rebellion is often labeled as an illness. This bold and unsettling exploration reveals madness as both a form of punishment and an act of resistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Story of Zahra<\/span><\/a> by Hanan al-Shaykh, translated by Peter Ford
\n<\/span>Anchor, 1996<\/span><\/p>\n

The novel follows a young Lebanese woman\u2019s descent into psychological turmoil during personal trauma and civil war. Zahra, silenced and abused by her family and society, seeks escape through exile, love, and ultimately a return to Beirut during its most violent years. Her fragile mental state worsens, as the fighting becomes both backdrop and mirror to her inner chaos, showcasing how trauma, isolation, and repression can push a woman to the edge of madness. First published in 1980, it was one of the first Arabic novels to openly discuss taboo topics \u2014 mental illness, sex, and patriarchy \u2014 through a woman\u2019s perspective, making it a foundational feminist text.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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