Glimpses of My Life and Career and The People Who Made Them: A Palestinian Story

The narrative in this book is a reflective review of the dispossession and displacement that befell the author’s generation and their families in the aftermath of the 1948 Palestinian Nakba, and the struggle to move forward against all odds. Through a series of particular events that the author calls Glimpses, he relates how he was able to overcome challenges that he and his family faced to ultimately become a world-renowned physician. Although the book weaves stories from the author’s life, it does not fall neatly within the traditional genre of a memoir. Instead, the author reflects on a series of encounters and individuals that created the connective web which shaped his life and career, and an educational institution (the American University of Beirut) that was centered on a moto ( To have life and to have it more abundantly ) that guided him through both difficulties and successes. In so doing, he reminds us that human connection, family, generosity, and faith in what is possible will always defeat bigotry and oppression, and that acts of kindness create ripples that change worlds.