THEY CALLED ME A LIONESS by Ahed Tamimi & Dena Takruri (ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Kirkus Reviews)

A Palestinian activist jailed at sixteen after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers illuminates the daily struggles of life under occupation in this moving, deeply personal memoir.

“What would you do if you grew up seeing your home repeatedly raided? Your parents arrested? Your mother shot? Your uncle killed? Try, for just a moment, to imagine that this was your life. How would you want the world to react?”

Ahed Tamimi is a world-renowned Palestinian activist, born and raised in the small West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, which became a center of the resistance to Israeli occupation when an illegal, Jewish-only settlement blocked off its community spring. Tamimi came of age participating in nonviolent demonstrations against this action and the occupation at large. Her global renown reached an apex in December 2017, when, at sixteen years old, she was filmed slapping an Israeli soldier who refused to leave her front yard. The video went viral, and Tamimi was arrested.

But this is not just a story of activism or imprisonment. It is the human-scale story of an occupation that has riveted the world and shaped global politics, from a girl who grew up in the middle of it . Tamimi’s father was born in 1967, the year that Israel began its occupation of the West Bank and he grew up immersed in the resistance movement. One of Tamimi’s earliest memories is visiting him in prison, poking her toddler fingers through the fence to touch his hand. She herself would spend her seventeenth birthday behind bars. Living through this greatest test and heightened attacks on her village, Tamimi felt her resolve only deepen, in tension with her attempts to live the normal life of a daughter, sibling, friend, and student.

An essential addition to an important conversation, They Called Me a Lioness shows us what is at stake in this struggle and offers a fresh vision for resistance. With their unflinching, riveting storytelling, Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri shine a light on the humanity not just in occupied Palestine but also in the unsung lives of people struggling for freedom around the world.

Review

"I cannot even begin to convey the clarity, the intensity, the power, the photographic storytelling of They Called Me a Lioness. Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri lay bare seemingly every terrifying aspect of Israel's apartheid against Palestinians, and the relentless freedom fight of Palestinians and their Israeli allies. Read and bear witness."--Ibram X. Kendi, internationally bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist

"Throughout the book, [Ahed] Tamimi navigates the delicate balance between anger and hope and between despair and determination. With her compelling voice, she roars through the pages, demanding attention and change. They Called Me a Lioness is a testament to the power of not just one individual's bravery, but a whole village's commitment to fighting for justice in the face of adversity."--Middle East Monitor, Palestine Book Awards

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ One World; Reissue edition (5 September 2023)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 274 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593134591

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593134597

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 204 g

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.21 x 1.52 x 20.32 cm

Customer Reviews: 4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars    461 ratings