My Brother, My Land: A Story from Palestine, a new book by Sami Hermez, associate professor in residence at Northwestern Qatar, is now available. This creative non-fiction captures the story of one family's care for their land and is a reflection on love and heartache while living in Palestine.
Published by Stanford University Press, the book offers a personal account of Palestinian resistance, focusing on the story of Sireen Sawalha's brother Iyad, who joined the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Second Intifada, and her larger family based in the Palestinian village of Kufr Ra’i. In the book, Hermez highlights the reality of ordinary Palestinian lives and the politics and ethical complexities of armed resistance.
“I was motivated by Sireen’s retelling of her life history, and I wanted the world to hear about her family’s experience because it felt like a quintessential Palestinian one while also being unique,” said Hermez. “Through the years, I wanted people to understand Palestinian resistance in all its rawness, to feel what it’s like to live every day under occupation, and through this, come to better understand the question of Palestine.”
“Hermez’s book is a multi-dimensional exploration that intersects anthropology, oral history, creative writing, memoir, Palestine studies, and Middle East studies. Through creative and transdisciplinary approaches, this book invites readers to engage deeply with the Palestinian experience, expanding our understanding and advancing deeper understanding of the Global South.”
In explaining the creative choices behind the book, Hermez said, “I wrote this book as a piece of creative nonfiction for a general audience, to be able to tell a story from Palestine and make people feel the heartache of settler colonialism past and present.” He added, “If I wanted the story to get out into the world, I knew I had to write to appeal to people in a way that academic monographs normally do not.”
The book is the latest addition to the numerous books and creative scholarship produced by Northwestern Qatar faculty this year. “Hermez’s book is a multi-dimensional exploration that intersects anthropology, oral history, creative writing, memoir, Palestine studies, and Middle East studies,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “Through creative and transdisciplinary approaches, this book invites readers to engage deeply with the Palestinian experience, expanding and deepening our understanding of the Global South."
My Brother, My Land: A Story from Palestine is now available for purchase online. For more information, click here.
