2024 Arab American Heritage Month

The world of journalism is a harsh place, especially for women, and even more so for women of color. But what if you are a woman of color that is white passing? What does it mean to be Syrian? What does it mean to be Syrian American? What does it mean to be praised for your nonconforming Arab looks?

The entire world falls under the white male gaze. This memoir, which is really a collection of essays, begins with Hala's ancestor being kidnapped from her home and sent as a concubine to modern day Syria. Through this woman, and after her, her descendants don't look so typically Middle Eastern.

(Hala herself uses the term Middle East, which is a colonial term. The more generally accepted term these days is SWANA.)

In her career, Hala uses her mother's surname Gorani, which sounds vaguely Italian, instead of her father's more ethnically recognizable Basha. The reasons for this are obvious. When applying for posts in France, one of her adopted countries, she found more success with this, adding a photo to her CV, and removing Arabic as a language she spoke.

I don't tie women's value to early marriage and motherhood. I find it admirable that Hala advanced through her career worrying about neither. She married for the first time in her mid-forties and never had children.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read about an American woman I wasn't familiar with. The news is a somewhat untrustworthy and depressing place, but I'll keep an eye out for anything featuring Hala. I have a feeling I'd like her in person.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Books

BUT YOU DON'T LOOK ARAB by Hala Gorani includes a Timeline of Key Events (stretching from 1909 to 2023) and a Select Bibliography. Gorani, an Emmy Award–winning international news anchor who was raised mostly in France, shares her family's story and provides significant background about the twentieth century history of Syria and surrounding regions. Her text is both informative and emotive and I know specific students who would readily relate to her situation of being the blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter of Syrian immigrants. Gorani makes the choice to group events geographically (with sections labelled for major cities Aleppo, Cairo, Paris, Istanbul, Baghdad, Beirut, for example) rather than chronologically. In some ways, this makes following her thoughts more difficult for readers, but simultaneously allows them to more fully immerse themselves in another culture. Future journalists and readers curious about the Middle East will enjoy this new title as well as No Ordinary Assignment by Jane Ferguson.

I was really looking forward to this book but it wasn't quite what I expected. There were parts that I really liked, for example, the information about the earthquake in Haiti and some of the background information about her family and their history, but overall I found it a little too information heavy about things that I wasn't overly interested in. For example, at some point I felt like the amount of detail about her great great grandmother's life was a bit too much. There is nothing really wrong with the book, it just couldn't hold my interest.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this one.

Hala Gorani's captivating memoir, "But You Don't Look Arab," is a deeply personal and eye-opening journey through her life (with her career stumbles and successes peppered throughout). Through her stories Gorani shows what it feels like to not "belong" anywhere.

What I loved about this memoir, is that it wasn't just a tale of her remarkable career as a CNN reporter/anchor... but also a thought-provoking exploration of identity and belonging in a world filled with labels -- and also how these labels deeply affect the way we walk and present to the world.

She also spends a great deal of time highlighting the perils of being a foreign correspondent and trying to find love, deal with hormonal changes and overall find what truly brings meaning to life.

Hala's concise yet engaging writing style manages to cover generations of her family's history, offering readers a rich understanding of the Middle East's complex and turbulent past. Her ability to intertwine personal stories with historical events provides a new and incredibly interesting perspective on the region.

Her experiences with racism and sexism, especially in the early stages of her career, shed light on the challenges she faced. Hala's pragmatic and graceful approach to overcoming these obstacles is truly inspiring and serves as a valuable lesson for those who encounter similar challenges.

"But You Don't Look Arab" is a must-read for anyone interested in the Middle East, journalism, and the universal quest for identity and belonging. Hala's honest and eloquent storytelling, combined with her rich family history and career experiences, make this book an enlightening and inspiring read.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know Gorani's work before this book. I'm happy to have read it and really enjoyed getting to know her first hand account of international journalism in the "crazy" world we live in. I believe it takes a brave soul to do this work and Gorani does it well. That section of the book was my favorite. The first part is full of the history and origin story of her family. While very in=depth and interesting the second half appealed to me more as a former journalism major. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars for this look at what it feels like to not fit in and wonder about where you belong.

Hala Gorani's captivating, hard to put down, memoir left me feeling impressed and inspired.

The first section of the book describes the story of Ms. Gorani's family from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present in the context of the fascinating history of the Ottoman Empire and Syria. Ms. Gorani's concise writing style enabled her to cover many years and family members in a compelling way. I learned a wealth of history and the context of modern events in the Middle East as I read this book.

Throughout the book, Gorani shares her feelings of not belonging because of her Syrian descent, US birth, upbringing in France, light skin and "Arab sounding" name. As a young woman applying for jobs she was struggling until she shortened her name from Hala Basha-Gorani to Hala Gorani and removed Arabic speaking from her resume. Although she describes this as an abject decision, Gorani navigates racism and sexism with pragmatism, grace and elegance throughout her distinguished career. I feel that this poignant memoir will serve as an inspiration to those feeling a lack of belonging and a good lesson for those in positions of privilege.

The second half of the book describes Ms. Gorani's impressive career as a journalist which includes several incredible experiences covering big stories across the globe culminating in a career highlight of anchoring her own news show on CNN, Hala Gorani Tonight. The book is organized by geography and is not in chronological order. I would advise readers to pay attention to the date at the start of each section.

In April 2022 Ms. Gorani made the brave decision to take a sabbatical year, stepping away from her anchor role at CNN. During this year she took the time to write this phenomenal memoir. As a middle aged woman, I am very inspired by Ms. Gorani and how she has navigated her life thus far. I am excited to see what comes next for this remarkable woman!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Books for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.