Welcome to Litsy!

This is a story of one woman's search for freedom. A story of family. Dahlia's story. The Pact We Made is Layla AlAmmar's debut novel. Dahlia is staring down the barrel of her thirtieth birthday, the age when a Kuwaiti woman from a good family is past her prime marrying years. She straddles two worlds: one in which she's a modern woman with a good job and a vibrant social life in a modern city, and another where she still lives with her parents, can't have male friends, or leave the country without her father's permission. Dahlia also has a burgeoning anxiety disorder and a deeply buried secret. When an assailant from her past meets his untimely death, she realises the scars haven't healed after all. Beautifully written, with shades of Kate Chopin's The Awakening, The Pact We Made explores the duality of being a woman in contemporary Kuwait.