War and Me: A Memoir

Iraqi poet Hassan (A Butterfly’s Voice) revisits a lifetime defined by war in this devastating and gorgeous work. Hassan’s childhood was marked by grief and casualty, a reality that grew worse in her early teens after Iran and Iraq went to war in 1980. Even with her academic achievements, Hassan struggled to celebrate her accomplishments: “What was success worth when death stole my loved ones from me, one by one?” As a schoolteacher, Hassan continued to develop her talents for writing and poetry, publishing her debut collection to national acclaim despite the misogyny of her local writing community. Though the 13-year-long economic sanctions would leave her family barely able to feed themselves, Hassan worked steadfastly to support her family before begrudgingly agreeing to an arranged marriage. As she reveals, the marriage buckled under her unsupportive husband’s anger; when she received a master’s degree during the United States’ intervention in Iraq, Hassan writes, “My husband’s sense that I had become too independent... caused him to tyrannize me even more.” After he made public death threats against her, she escaped to the U.S., where she now resides and continues to write. While a sobering narrative, Hassan’s intelligence and resilience combine to yield an incredibly powerful look at the ripple effects of warfare. Her poignant tale of survival is one that readers won’t soon forget. (Aug.)