The Feminine Art

Tag: The Feminine Art

March 4, 2016

ISIS Cannot Destroy our Stories

The Feminine Art

Chaldeans are an ancient people who trace their roots to Prophet Abraham as he was from Ur, land of the Chaldees. These are my ancestors and, for thousands of years, they have contributed a great deal to the birth of civilization. They were builders then and they are still builders today, despite the hundreds of years of oppression and violence they keep enduring.

After the Islamic State attacked the Christian villages of Iraq, the birthplace of my parents and grandparents, Christian Iraqis in the United States were outraged. They helplessly watched family, friends and relatives being forced out of their homes in the most inhumane way possible. Chaldeans, Assyrians, Yazidis and other minorities were kidnapped for ransom, or killed, and others were threatened to convert or die. Women and girls were captured, like slaves, and those who survived had nothing to their name but their identification cards. They left their homes and all their belongings and became refugees.

The leaders in our community immediately reached out to political figures in Washington to help the minorities during this dire situation. As ISIS destroyed historical sites and artifacts, artists took up their brush and rebuilt these monuments on canvas, more determined than ever to bring their history back to life. Myself, I picked up the pen and I wrote and wrote and wrote.

Aside from wanting to give our community a voice, I wanted to preserve our stories. I’ve always wanted to do that, but more today than ever. We have magnificent stories that are unheard and these stories are not necessarily about war, religion, or politics. They are about love, culture, courage, and triumph.

This weekend, my three novels are for the promotional price of $0.99 (eBook), so that they reach more readers, so that more people have the opportunity to learn about an ancient people that are not victims over their lives, but victors!

My Amazon page to order these books: http://www.amazon.com/Weam-Namou/e/B001K8X9HM

The Feminine Art

http://www.amazon.com/Feminine-Art-Weam-Namou-ebook/dp/B00WJG0Y5E/ref=sr_1_3_twi_kin_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457097727&sr=8-3&keywords=Weam+Namou

The Mismatched Braid

http://www.amazon.com/The-Mismatched-Braid-Weam-Namou-ebook/dp/B00W60X5FY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_351_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51AaSLS5gxL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR103%2C160_&refRID=0VJ4A6KNM0G7E9N0SPX3

The Flavor of Cultures

http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Cultures-Weam-Namou-ebook/dp/B00UPFOHEK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1457097840&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Flavor+of+Cultures

February 20, 2013

After a visit to the gym, we stopped at the Barnes & Noble bookstore. My kids played in the youth services, near the Thomas the Train area, and I just sat there drinking my non-fat strawberry crème, dazing off into space. I was tired, after having walked on the treadmill and done yoga. Soon afterwards, I got up and took a little stroll. My eyes fell on a book, my book, The Feminine Art, which was published nearly ten years ago in 2004.

I became alert again, went and picked up the book. There were three copies on the shelves. I scanned its surroundings. Books by authors like Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita) and Anais Nin were alongside The Feminine Art, my first novel. I’d finished writing this story when I was twenty-six years old. For years prior to that, I’d walked alongside these same shelves imagining that one day I’d see my book on these shelves. It’d happened, not half as easily as I had imagined, but it did happen.

I walked away from the shelves, wondering if people generally have the tendency to forget their accomplishments and focus on their setbacks. Or if it’s just me.