Autobiography

I Don't Want to Talk About Home: A migrant’s search for belonging

I Don't Want to Talk About Home: A migrant’s search for belonging

  • Downloads：3503
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-01 08:41:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Suad Aldarra
  • ISBN：1781620628
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Powerful， fascinating and deeply moving - this book pushes aside our lazy images of human migration and refugees。 I loved it。
RODDY DOYLE， author of Love

'I carry my troubled homeland within me; I hide it like a crime。'

Growing up in conservative Saudi Arabia， Suad Aldarra felt stifled by the strictures placed on women。 She yearned for the vibrant Syrian streets of her family's origin。 When the opportunity arose to study at Damascus University， she jumped at the chance to move to a city she loved and to experience a degree of freedom she'd never known。

But when the war started， everything changed。 Suddenly Suad was thrown into a world of relentless pressure desperately looking for a way out。 Her degree in software engineering was the saving grace that allowed her to travel to Ireland on a working visa。 Yet reaching safety came at a price 。。。

I Don't Want to Talk About Home is not a memoir about war and destruction。 It's not about camps or boats。 It's about the enduring love for a home that ceased to exist， building a life out of the rubble， and the parts of yourself you lose and find when integrating into a new world。

Illuminating， vivid， and insightful， this is such a timely book。
LOUISE O'NEILL， author of Idol

Full of heart， honesty and hard-learnt wisdom。。。 a captivating journey across continents， history and culture。 I literally couldn't put this book down。
JAN CARSON author of The Raptures

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Reviews

Frankie Frank ，

A wonderfully personal relate of one woman’s journey from childhood to adult life。 From the questioning resistant girl to the woman learning about herself as she struggles to find her true path in the world。 Included are clear depictions of growing upIn Syria with all its confines to the challenge of war and it affect on families there。 Powerful， personal and very moving。 I loved it

Ioanna Kyvernitou ，

What a gem of a book！ Suad Aldarra shared her unique and powerful story on love， war， migration， and motherhood。 A woman’s Odyssey from family， social and political constraints to fighting for freedom and constructing new meanings。 A breathtaking and honest narration。 Vivid descriptions of cities like Riyadh， Damascus， Cairo， Galway and New York。 A coming of age book full of emotions， adventures， and obstacles， focusing on companionship and friendship in an unpredictable world。 Feeling grateful What a gem of a book！ Suad Aldarra shared her unique and powerful story on love， war， migration， and motherhood。 A woman’s Odyssey from family， social and political constraints to fighting for freedom and constructing new meanings。 A breathtaking and honest narration。 Vivid descriptions of cities like Riyadh， Damascus， Cairo， Galway and New York。 A coming of age book full of emotions， adventures， and obstacles， focusing on companionship and friendship in an unpredictable world。 Feeling grateful and enlightened to have read it。 This book is definitely worth reading！ 。。。more

Reem Hourieh ，

Once I started reading this book， I couldn't stop until I finished。 The author writes about her childhood in Saudi Arabia in the 90s and early 2000s， her adulthood in Syria before and during the first two years of the war around 2011 and her journey to find a safe life first in Egypt and then in Ireland。 Where the last few chapters describe her life after taking a remote job in New York around 2016 and a glimpse of how her life continued from there。I found the book very emotional。 I know many pe Once I started reading this book， I couldn't stop until I finished。 The author writes about her childhood in Saudi Arabia in the 90s and early 2000s， her adulthood in Syria before and during the first two years of the war around 2011 and her journey to find a safe life first in Egypt and then in Ireland。 Where the last few chapters describe her life after taking a remote job in New York around 2016 and a glimpse of how her life continued from there。I found the book very emotional。 I know many people who shared similar life path and stories。 I myself shared some and could totally relate。 There is no exaggeration but a very smooth language that keeps you longing to read and know more。 The book is very informative and the author writes a lot of facts without being political。I found it hard not to cry at multiple occasions through the book。 I'm glad that someone was brave enough to tell those stories in such a beautiful style。I can totally recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn a bit more about that life path。 I specially recommend it to Syrian women （and men） who can probably feel at ease knowing that they were not alone in their journeys and feeling。 。。。more

Tarek Azoz ，

I read the book in a couple of days， I wish I had the time to read it quicker， it was that good。 I know Suad and I'm Syrian as well so the book was very relatable for me。 From the first page you could tell that you are going to read something special， something honest， personal and deeply emotional。 I will read the book again for sure， it was that good。 I read the book in a couple of days， I wish I had the time to read it quicker， it was that good。 I know Suad and I'm Syrian as well so the book was very relatable for me。 From the first page you could tell that you are going to read something special， something honest， personal and deeply emotional。 I will read the book again for sure， it was that good。 。。。more

Fatma Sajwani ，

One of the best reads/ listens （I heard it on Audible） of this year so far ！ I thoroughly enjoyed Suad's account of her experience， struggles and perspective。 Although I don't agree with her on her religious thoughts but I applaud her courage in openly sharing her experience as an Arab woman， refugee who built her career in tech。 I found it quite inspiring and strongly recommend it One of the best reads/ listens （I heard it on Audible） of this year so far ！ I thoroughly enjoyed Suad's account of her experience， struggles and perspective。 Although I don't agree with her on her religious thoughts but I applaud her courage in openly sharing her experience as an Arab woman， refugee who built her career in tech。 I found it quite inspiring and strongly recommend it 。。。more

Roua Horanieh ，

Honest， moving and beautifully written。 A rare and compelling voice。 I loved this book and can’t wait to read what Suad Aldarra will write next。

Tracy Keogh ，

A book so good it could get me through a reading block I've had since mum passed。 The first few pages are enough to force you to interrupt your other plans to find out what happened next。 A wonderful read， but also a really important one that's both gripping and educational。 Could not recommend it enough。 A book so good it could get me through a reading block I've had since mum passed。 The first few pages are enough to force you to interrupt your other plans to find out what happened next。 A wonderful read， but also a really important one that's both gripping and educational。 Could not recommend it enough。 。。。more

Sharmila ，

3。75 rounded up to 4 stars。 “I Don’t Want to Talk About Home” is a debut memoir that follows Suad Aldarra。 From her conservative upbringing in Saudi Arabia， her studies in her family’s homeland of Syria， the war， Egypt and eventually her work in Ireland and New York。 I had really mixed feelings reading this memoir。 There were many aspects of this memoir that I found fascinating。 My knowledge of Saudi Arabia has come from Western media and my fathers experience working there as a foreigner and a 3。75 rounded up to 4 stars。 “I Don’t Want to Talk About Home” is a debut memoir that follows Suad Aldarra。 From her conservative upbringing in Saudi Arabia， her studies in her family’s homeland of Syria， the war， Egypt and eventually her work in Ireland and New York。 I had really mixed feelings reading this memoir。 There were many aspects of this memoir that I found fascinating。 My knowledge of Saudi Arabia has come from Western media and my fathers experience working there as a foreigner and a man。 It was interesting to learn more about Saudi and the countries hyper conservative treatment of women。I liked the depictions of Damascus pre-wartime as this isn’t a Syria most of the world is familiar with。 Her time in Syria was described in ways that reflected not only the conflict within the country， but the conflict within。 The desire to stay in your homeland and the urge to leave。 As an Irish person， I enjoyed seeing the depictions of Ireland and Irish people from an outsiders view。 However， as a POC in Ireland， I didn’t always agree with these depictions which were mostly framed in a positive light。 I’m glad the author had these positive experiences but personally， for me and other POC I know in Ireland， we don’t share the same experiences。 I cringed a bit during the humanitarian parts of the book until the author herself realised the hypocrisy of humanitarian workers spending money that could be sent to those in need， on fancy and expensive dinners and events。 I also wish the author had included something on Direct Provision。 An inhumane and human rights violation that perpetuates systemic racism within Ireland。 I am SO glad that the author was privileged enough to obtain a work visa （and acknowledges that privilege） but it would have been nice to see mention of those who aren’t in that position。 Saying this， I admire the author immensely。 She has gone through so much。 She has achieved an incredible amount and I admire her as a woman who has broken societal expectations and followed her heart。 It was great to hear her story and see her growth during the memoir。 Definitely a woman to admire！ Overall， it was a good debut， I got to learn about Saudi and Syria and follow a very interesting woman’s life。 I feel weird rating a memoir as it’s the authors life and her story is fascinating， but the writing was a bit cliché at times which has brought down my star rating。 Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Random House， UK， Transworld for an ARC for an honest review。 。。。more

thesapphiccelticbookworm ，

Thank you to Netgalley and Transworld Publishers for an early copy of this book。Suad Aldarra was born and raised in Saudi Arabia。 She felt stifled by the sexist， and oppressive regime and longed to move to Syria where her parents were from and where she spent many happy summers。 After finishing school she manages to get into Damascus University， where she revelled in her new-found freedom。 Then war came and everything changed。 Thanks to her degree she was eventually able to move to Ireland on a Thank you to Netgalley and Transworld Publishers for an early copy of this book。Suad Aldarra was born and raised in Saudi Arabia。 She felt stifled by the sexist， and oppressive regime and longed to move to Syria where her parents were from and where she spent many happy summers。 After finishing school she manages to get into Damascus University， where she revelled in her new-found freedom。 Then war came and everything changed。 Thanks to her degree she was eventually able to move to Ireland on a work visa and later her new husband was able to follow her。 But with culture shock， stress of uncertainty about when she could she her family and friends again， the grief for the life and land she had to leave behind， reaching safety didn't end her troubles。This was an interesting， well written and very accessible book。 It was very interesting to see Aldarra's complicated relationship with her family and her try and reconcile her religion and it's place in her new life。Being Irish myself， I found it fascinating to see the perspective of someone moving her from an very different world， and adjusting to the people， the way of life， the weather and the language （Hiberno-English， as opposed to the English she had previously learned）。 I couldn't help comparing and contrasting Aldarra's experience with this and my own father's; he moved from another European country to Ireland in the 1970's， so his experience was wildly different。I found this book very enlightening on an experience I knew little about。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=I Don't Want to Talk About Home: A migrant’s search for belonging

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=I Don't Want to Talk About Home: A migrant’s search for belonging&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,I Don't Want to Talk About Home: A migrant’s search for belonging&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0