Family: Do We Know the Real Story?

Three Daughters by Consuelo Saah Baehr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting book, covering three generations of mothers and daughters. It covers as well, an expanse of history highlighting the changes and choices that women have encountered over the years.

This book surprised me in the experiences that each of the women faced. In my limited experiences with women from the Arab Palestinian culture I pictured the women as being more submissive, more restricted . . . more, cautious I guess. This is not the case with the three women in this story. Miriam, Nadia and Nijmeh each have their own story to tell.

Miriam is strong, traditional, smart, and enticed by the opportunities that wars (yes, multiple) bring to her as a woman in her country. Although her marriage is arranged, she and her husband form a marriage partnership that works for them. Even so, Miriam falls in love with another man and begins a relationship that could put her in real danger. She knows, however, that she can never, or will never, leave her husband. Eventually, she will come to realize that she deeply loves him.

Nadia, Miriam's daughter, is rebellious. Conventional marriages and the conventional life are not for her. She resists the arranged marriage her parents desire for her, and would rather be out riding horses than living out the traditional role a woman plays in her tribe. Nadia falls in love with an older man, but is tricked into a marriage with a person from her tribe and culture. She soon realizes that Samir loves her, and she loves him too. The only thing lacking in their relationship is children. Nijmeh,their daughter, ends up being their only child.

Nijmeh's story was my favorite. She is innocent and naive, but at the same time tough and smart. In preparation for her role as next in line when the Sheikh, her father dies, she learns to live on her own in the desert. Her father wants her to learn to love the land and traditions of her family. Nijmeh also falls in love, but her father disapproves and intervenes. Through a controlled circumstance, Nijmeh ends up marrying a doctor whose family is from her tribe, and then moves to America. Once Nijmeh is in America,we begin to see the real Nijmeh emerge.

The story of each of the daughters is different than the story that their families know. I enjoyed how the author allowed us to see what other characters in the book were thinking. Some of the descriptive paragraphs were a little long for me, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

Love shines through in the end, because family is, after all, more about heart than blood. The ending, which highlights this thought, was perfect!  



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