Welcome to Litsy!

This book shares first person accounts of Syrians. It‘s divided into several sections from the increase in authoritarianism, through protest and war, to flight to other countries. The author interviewed people from 2012-2016 who had left Syria.

I didn‘t feel like buying groceries to make something for #FoodAndLit, so I made these simple barazek cookies.

#nonfiction #audiobook #Syria #ReadTheWorld #ReadingTheWorld

This is a strong and impactful oral history with voices from #Syria during the period of Arab Spring (2011). Pearlman combines history with these true stories. Important perspective as we think about today‘s refugee crisis news stories. This is one piece of how it started.

I wish my #readingasia2021 choices were less depressing, but we must face the truth of authoritarianism.

Full review https://www.TheBibliophage.com #thebibliophage2021

A fantastic collection of stories from Syria regarding the regime and refugees.

This book should honestly be required reading for everyone. Empowering and heartbreaking, it‘s a selection of stories from Syrians and their experiences. Incredible.

Told in seven sections starting with the Authoritarianism rule in Syria, going through the Arab Spring, and ending with the flight of the millions of refugees, and told from the voices of over 40 Syrians in different times and places during the war, this book is gut-wrenching and eye-opening. I had NO idea what was really going on in Syria, nor did I understand the repercussions of the war on those who stayed and those who escaped. A ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5.

Excellent, excellent collection of oral histories from Syria. I recommend it on audio-- it's on hoopla! It gave me a lot of insight and understanding as to the war there. I finished it on my #litsywalkers walk today, which was indoors at the gym and therefore no pictures! Might go outside tomorrow weather permitting.

I found this book to be informational and deeply moving. The author spent years and conducted countless interviews with Syrian people. I highly recommend this one!

I don‘t even know how to review this. The book is a series of statements from Syrians, reflections of life before and during the civil war. It is heartbreaking, gut wrenching, difficult, and important. The international community failed the Syrian people. Catastrophically. We must do better. We must be better. We must.

This. ⬆️⬆️ “help us make peace” 💔😢

This book is heartbreaking. 💔

#SundaySnuggles with #Bailey. Perfect way to spend the day! Happy Sunday everyone!!

I knew this book would break my heart. 😢💔 (quote from interview with Tayseer, a lawyer from Daraa)

Starting this library book tonight. #Bailey says it looks like a heartbreaking, tough read, and she wants no part of my tears. 😂😂 #dogsoflitsy #readingbuddy

My #JuneTBR consists of these library books, finishing a couple books I started last month, and whatever else I feel like. The tagged book came recommended by my favorite author, Ausma Zehanat Khan. 😍 It‘s going to be gut-wrenching.

#readingresolutions

Mostly I just want to say that today‘s my 35th birthday and show you the light reading I‘m celebrating with.

I'm heartbroken.... Wendy Pearlman did a fantastic job compiling these stories and I'm utterly bereaved now that I have these inside recollections of atrocious human indignities. I see photographs and I feel nauseous, but these start from the beginning of the war when I was too young and selfish to care. I learned a lot.

We need more books like this one. We need more education on how life became so dire. We need to end the humanitarian crisis.

Today's the day! Out tree ? shopping with my fiancé's family. It's a crazy affair (lots of loose berries and acorns chucked at each other) but we've found the "one".

Seasonal goodies are up next before we head home. ?

Listening to the tagged audiobook in the car, learning a lot of Syria's history and feeling extra thankful for my own privileged life.

This book was hard, but necessary. I loved the format and I am so awed by the courage that Pearlman has captured in these pages. I am just heartbroken for these people whose government betrayed them, whose world did not offer the help they needed, and who now feel like they don't belong anywhere. I appreciated the wealth of women's stories, esp toward the end.

This book gets more heart-breaking the deeper I get into it. I am having to stop between sections just to recover before diving back in. 💔 🇸🇾

I finished this a little while ago but struggled with what to say. I thought the format was very effective- Pearlman got to know the Syrians she interviewed which let them feel comfortable to share the utter horror of their experiences. I was stunned at how ready these people were to risk their lives and torture by speaking out. I don't claim to know specifics about the refugee situation in Germany, but I admire their open doors #thisisnotAmerica

Heart breaking. I can't imagine feeling so helpless as a health care professional.

We sleep on plastic bags on lazy #caturday while mom is reading and trying to stay sane on call. #catsoflitsy #littenkittens

Pearlman is fluent in Arabic. She interviewed hundreds of Syrian refugees and compiled this anthology with snippets from many of them. It helps put human faces on these people who are average citizens, displaced from their homes. Housewives, students, pharmacists, engineers, shopkeepers, graphic designers, doctors... all of their voices helped me to understand their situation and the situation in Syria. #Audiobook produced with multiple narrators.

But once we started we couldn't go back. It's as if we were walking on a thread that kept getting cut behind us as we moved forward.

I have to take breaks from listening to this collection of interviews with Syrian refugees. It's heartbreaking.

Started this today - read the intro and part one. This piece was a difficult one to swallow. I can't even imagine the things that these people have had to endure as a luxury of where I happened to be born. Looking forward to gaining more insight to something I don't know a whole lot about #learningthroughreading #readingwithoutwalls

Just started this yesterday- still on the introductory history so I haven't gotten to the interviews yet but it's hard to imagine that #brave won't be a great understatement in describing those who tell their stories. #currentread #Augustgrrrl @Cinfhen

I don't know if this will be the best book I read this year, but it will without a doubt be the most important. If I could make everyone in the country or the world read something right now it would be this book.

This compilation of interviews with Syrians is an important but harrowing read. These are the stories of teachers, doctors, shop owners, mothers, sons, widows, former prisoners, and hundreds of others average people who endured the unthinkable in their country and then had to build new lives elsewhere. There are people in my life I wish I could get to read this but I will have to settle for recommending it to all of you.

Reading WE CROSSED A BRIDGE AND IT TREMBLED by Wendy Pearlman. Devastating.

Library #bookhaul- I drove to the next town over because I'm too impatient to wait for a hold on the the Wendy Pearlman book, and you can't go to a library for just one book 😝

My interview with Wendy Pearlman is live today on CHIRB. (Her book is so important and incredible!) You can check out the interview here: https://chireviewofbooks.com/2017/06/15/we-crossed-a-bridge-and-it-trembled-wend...

Some of these stories are difficult to read, but this book is so powerful. The author interviewed over 300 Syrian refugees in 4 years and compiles their stories in this book. There's a nice range of different voices and she arranges them in a really interesting way. If you want to understand the conflict in Syria better, this book is excellent.

I've been reading (and loving!) an ARC of this powerful book. Today I received a beautiful finished copy from the publisher.