Why does a young, white woman from a middle-class family reject American culture, become Muslim, marry an incarcerated Black American man, and then - with her three young children - follow him to North Africa after his escape from prison? A Doorway to Tunis is my effort to answer these questions and tell the story of my family’s fugitive life in the Muslim world.
One part of the answer may be revealed if you reflect on the social and political turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s, that era of protest against the racist, sexist, and capitalist roots of our society. Imbued with that consciousness, as well as a deep spiritual longing, I grew from a child to an adult. And I believed in putting that ethos into action.
Then there were my secret dreams. As a child growing up in a quiet suburban community, I was bored with the tedium and sameness, and I dreamed of travel and adventure. I rebelled against my father’s sexist prohibitions and fervently wanted to escape my mother’s volatile treatment of me and my siblings. As soon as I got a chance to leave, I took it. If some said I went too far, I wasn’t listening to them.
I can't wait to order and read your book !