Words of My Father

Eleven-year-old Yousef is preoccupied with video games, school pranks, and meeting his father's high standards in the Gaza Strip. When the Second Intifada erupts, soldiers occupy the family home, and Yousef's father refuses to flee, leading to a state of virtual imprisonment. Yousef struggles to understand his father's commitment to peaceful co-existence and learns to endure his new life in captivity. Shot by an Israeli soldier at fifteen, Yousef confronts the paralysis of his lower body and gains a new perspective on the value of co-existence. This experience sets him on a difficult new path to embody his father's philosophy and spread a message of co-existence in a world of deep-set sectarianism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 17 September 2018
Publisher: Haus Publishing

Growing up in the Gaza Strip, eleven-year-old Yousef is consumed by video games, school pranks, and striving to meet his father's impossibly high standards. However, everything changes when the Second Intifada erupts, and soldiers occupy the family home. Yousef's father, determined not to flee and risk losing the house forever, finds himself confined in a state of virtual imprisonment as the army keeps the family under their control. Yousef struggles to comprehend his father's unwavering commitment to peaceful coexistence, even in the face of unfair and humiliating treatment by the occupying Israeli soldiers. Over time, Yousef learns to adapt to his new life in captivity, but he is unaware that a fateful bullet is about to alter his future in an instant. At the age of fifteen, Yousef is shot by an Israeli soldier and taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv. Through the tireless care of Israeli medical professionals, he begins to confront the paralysis of his lower body and gains a newfound perspective on the importance of coexistence. These transformative experiences propel Yousef on a challenging journey, leading him to embrace his father's philosophy and spread a message of harmony in a world deeply entrenched in sectarianism. The Words of My Father is a poignant and inspiring coming-of-age story that explores themes of survival, tolerance, and hope.

Weight: 428g
Dimension: 212 x 139 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781912208173