Explore this carefully curated selection of memoirs for 2025 featuring captivating stories that offer profound insights into the human experience and reveal personal journeys filled with challenges, triumphs, and reflections that resonate on multiple levels.
Rana Asfour
A Rift in Time: Travels with My Ottoman Uncle by Raja Shehadeh, Other Press, 2024
In this engrossing family memoir, Raja Shehadeh explores the life of his great-great-uncle Najib Nassar, a journalist born in 1865 who lived under the Ottoman Empire during a time of religious coexistence and freedom of movement. Shehadeh embarks on a two-year quest to uncover Najib’s story, retracing his steps through present-day Lebanon and Israel while examining the decline of the Empire after World War I and the impact of the British Mandate.
Anecdotes of an Arab Anglophile by Faisal J Abbas, Nomad Press, 2024
Faisal J. Abbas, a journalist and editor-in-chief of Arab News, offers a witty perspective on the experience of being an Arab in London. He shares personal anecdotes about his transformation from an Anglophobe to an Anglophile, exploring themes such as sex, politics, and religion. The book reflects on the expectations of a new immigrant and the importance of navigating cultural differences. Through his stories, Abbas provides insights into both British and Arab cultures, leaving readers entertained and informed.
Roman Year, A Memoir by André Aciman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024
André Aciman reflects on his adolescence after his family fled Egypt to settle in Rome. Despite their previous affluence in Alexandria, they faced a new life in a rented apartment, where Aciman felt isolated while his mother and brother adapted. Through reading, he gradually connected with Rome, discovering its essence. Although his time in the city was brief before moving to America, he developed a deep love for it. The memoir vividly depicts Aciman’s personal journey and his appreciation for the sights, sounds, and experiences of Rome during a transformative period in his life.
Imprisoning a Revolution: Writings from Egypt’s Incarcerated by Collective Antigone, University of California Press, Jan. 2025
The text discusses a collection of letters, poetry, and art created by individuals incarcerated in Egypt following the January 25, 2011 uprising. It includes works by journalists, lawyers, activists, and artists imprisoned for opposing the authoritarian government, as well as ordinary citizens who were merely present during police actions. The collection highlights the broader effort to suppress dissent against state power. While the anthology provides few answers or comfort, it amplifies the voices of those behind prison walls, highlighting our collective duty to remain aware and speak out against oppression. With a foreword by the formerly incarcerated Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji and an afterword with Kenyan literary giant Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Imprisoning a Revolution holds a mirror not just to Egypt but to the world today, urging us to stop the rampant abuse and denial of fundamental human rights around the globe.
Ugliness by Moshtari Hilal, translated by Elisabeth Lauffer, New Vessel Press, Feb. 2025
Moshtari Hilal, an Afghan-born author and artist living in Germany, has written a deeply political and intimate book examining societal norms of appearance: Dense body hair, crooked teeth, and big noses. Through a broad cultural lens, she addresses issues of beauty and self-image using various elements, including her experiences in Kabul’s beauty salons, Darwin’s theory of evolution, and contemporary figures like Kim Kardashian. The book combines essays, poetry, personal drawings, and social history to explore themes of repulsion and attraction, ultimately questioning societal fears of ugliness.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad, Penguin Random House, Feb. 2025
El Akkad, an immigrant, originally viewed the West as a land of freedom and justice. However, over the past twenty years, he has come to see much of this as deceptive. He believes that the West has consistently denied full humanity to entire groups, including Arabs, Muslims, and immigrants, as well as others outside privileged circles. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This explores his painful realization and moral struggle to find hope and possibility as a U.S. citizen and father amidst widespread violence and inequality.
The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders by Sarah Aziza, Catapult, April 2025
Sarah Aziza’s memoir chronicles the experiences of three generations of diasporic Palestinians, focusing on her own journey as the daughter and granddaughter of Gazan refugees. After struggling with an eating disorder and experiencing a near-death incident in 2019, Aziza begins to confront the haunting legacies of her family’s trauma and displacement. As she navigates ghostly dreams and family secrets, she discovers how her personal struggles reflect broader themes of Palestinian survival and resilience against colonization and patriarchal forces. The memoir blends various timelines, languages, and genres, offering a poignant exploration of identity, history, and the potential for renewal.
The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience by Pliesta Alaqad, Macmillan, April 2025
In early October 2023, Palestinian Plestia Alaqad was a recent journalism graduate. By late November, she gained international recognition as the “Eyes of Gaza” for her impactful social media posts that highlighted daily life in Gaza during Israel’s invasion and bombardment. Her work, presented as diary extracts, reveals the horrors of her experiences while emphasizing the resilience of her community. Although it recounts a harrowing experience, it is not a heart-breaking lamentation. Instead, it carries a message of hope, calling for a better future for Gaza, the Middle East, and our divided world.
The Tale of a Wall by Nasser Abou Srour, translated by Luke Leafgren, Other Press, April 2025
A powerful memoir from a Palestinian man who has spent more than 30 years in an Israeli prison — this work intertwines a profound love story with a soulful plea for justice. Sentenced to life without parole in 1993 after a forced confession, his extraordinary writings delve into the history of the Nakba to the Intifada of the Stones as he navigates life within the confines of an Israeli prison. In this exceptional memoir, Abu Srour transforms the Wall that confines him into a companion and source of stability amidst his chaotic existence. This survival strategy serves as a unique literary device, but its limitations become clear when he falls in love and loses his connection to the Wall. By writing about his imprisonment, he has created a work of art that transcends his pain while shining a glaring light on the ongoing tragedy of the Palestinian situation.
I’ll Tell You When I’m Home: A Memoir by Hala Alyan, Simon and Schuster, June 2025
Hala Alyan, an award-winning Palestinian American poet and novelist, has written a personal first memoir. In this book, she shares her experience with motherhood through surrogacy. This journey leads her to confront her past and reflect on her family’s history of exile and displacement, all while hoping for a new future. As her baby grows inside another woman’s body in a different country, Hala’s life is in turmoil as she deals with her husband’s desire to leave, the resurgence of past traumas and addictions, and the crisis in her childhood city, Beirut. As she navigates these challenges, she reflects on family stories and communal myths involving her grandmothers’ experiences across Palestine, Kuwait, Syria, and Lebanon, highlighting themes of displacement, resilience, and the contrasting influences of her Midwestern upbringing and life in Arab cities.
