{"id":29,"date":"2015-01-26T13:33:57","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T21:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lailaelsissi.com\/laila-wp\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2015-02-06T12:58:54","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T20:58:54","slug":"what-people-are-saying","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/about-the-book\/what-people-are-saying\/","title":{"rendered":"What People are Saying"},"content":{"rendered":"
“If you are looking for a story of true romance, punctuated with heartbreak, then this is the story for you. This book’s value, however, goes far beyond being an engrossing memoir. It cuts right to the heart of the mental pathology which drives the violence of so much of the Moslem world. Yeah, I said it! For this, you could not have a better eye-level, firsthand and personal account than that of Laila El-Sissi. She vividly describes a culture in which corrupted pride can trump the most fundamental love that any father should have for his daughter, or any brother for his sister, to the point that these are willing to savage the very ones they should most cherish and protect just for the sake of their delicate masculine egos. This is a tale that should be read, not just by romantics, but by world leaders trying to understand the dynamics of Middle East culture, a culture which licenses, under legal sanction no less, the aberrant pathology manifesting in fathers treating their own daughters like property, to be auctioned off as virtual sex slaves, to men often old enough to be their fathers, all under the rubric of marriage and tradition. You can\u2019t cure a mental illness if you can\u2019t even discuss the etiology of that illness. Ms. El-Sissi has opened the door for that discussion.”<\/div>\n
Elijah Brooks<\/div>\n
December 31, 2014
\n\u2028Hi Laila! I\u2019m reading your book now. Already in Chapter 10, and truly enjoying it. I love your writing style and voice.:) Your book keeps me awake till the wee hours of the morning. Can\u2019t put it down. You have a good voice and it shows the sweet person you are. I\u2019m sure this book will be a hit.<\/p>\n

January 2, 2015
\n\u2028It\u2019s 5am and I just finished your book. Wow!! You really kept the suspense going that I had to lose sleep to finish your book.:-)\u2028What an incredible story or shall I say stories. The book is so rich with flavor that I envisioned this to be as successful as the Kite Runner.\u2028I really sympathized with your story. There are themes of freedom and the power of love between sister. I was really routing for Ghassan. How sad! I want to know more after you left Lebanon and migrated to Canada.\u2028All the characters in the book have such a rich voice. I truly loved the relationship between you and your sister and I feel so bad that she died.\u2028Laila, you\u2019ve lived such a bittersweet life and have been through so much tragedies and triumphs as well. Your story will touch a lot of women who suffered the same situation as you.\u2028You deserve an award and recognition for this book, Laila.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2028Geraldine Solon, \u2028Author of Love Letters<\/em>, Chocolicious<\/em>, The Assigment<\/em> and The Lost Flower<\/em>.\u2028 Visit her at www.geraldinesolon.com.<\/div>\n
December 31, 2014
\n\u2028Michele loaned me your \u201cOut From The Shadow Of Men<\/em>\u201d memoir. I started last night and couldn\u2019t close it until 5am this morning when I read the last drop. Compelling, absolutely. Historical, yes. And stomach churning at the very least. I haven\u2019t gobbled up a book like that, other than those related to my work, in such a long time.\u2028I want to say thank you for writing such a vivid and courageous story of your family life in Egypt. You and your dear sister are true Spirit Warriors in every sense of the word. To walk to the beat of your drum in a culture that sees girls and women as possessions \u2013 still \u2013 is so meaningful and brave.\u2028 Although my cultural upbringing was strict \u2013 but nothing like what you experienced. I was called \u201cThe Rebel\u201d in my family because I refused to walk their old fashioned and restrictive walk. Looking back and comparing, my walk was a piece of cake compared to yours.<\/div>\n
Joycee Brodsky<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cSome books are important. Some books you can\u2019t put down. Out of the Shadows of Men<\/em> is both. Laila El-Sissi has given us a ground-breaking memoir of two young sisters growing up in Egypt whose courage, devotion to each other, and struggle for their own autonomous lives will make you fall in love with them and remember their story forever.\u201d<\/div>\n
Ellen Bass, author of The Courage to Heal<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cOut of the Shadows of Men<\/em>\u00a0is a powerful story of a courageous young Egyptian girl who defies all odds of culture, religion and power to change her destiny. Laila El-Sissi\u2019s story is captivating and meaningful and her writing is superb.\u201d<\/div>\n
Geraldine Solon, bestselling author of Love Letters<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cOut of the Shadows of Men<\/em> takes readers into the mind and heart of a young woman battling against the odds within an oppressive family to gain her freedom and live the life of her dreams. Laila El-Sissi has given us a memoir written in a voice that\u2019s unforgettable: it is the voice of a girl discovering her womanhood as she struggles to understand the conflict between her desires and the rules of her environment.\u201d<\/div>\n
David Paul, Co-author, Souls in the Hands of a Tender God<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cOut of the Shadows of Men<\/em> takes readers into the mind and heart of a young woman battling against the odds within an oppressive family to gain her freedom and live the life of her dreams. Laila El-Sissi has given us a memoir written in a voice that\u2019s unforgettable: it is the voice of a girl discovering her womanhood as she struggles to understand the conflict between her desires and the rules of her environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the first time that Laila began to read her story to us at a Fremont Area Writers Open Mic Night a couple of years ago, I thought immediately that what I was hearing were the polished words of a published writer. Only when she was finished reading did we find out that this was her first book. Wow! Laila has the talent, drive, desire, and capability to go a long way in the publishing world. Her story captivated all of us that evening and should do the same to many readers worldwide.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Robert A. Garfinkle, President California Writers Club<\/div>\n
Congratulations on your award\u2026<\/p>\n

August 16, 2010<\/p>\n

Dear Laila El-Sissi,<\/p>\n

Congratulations on your Honorable Mention Award for your fine piece, \u201cOut of Alexandria,\u201d in the New Millennium Writings competition that closed January 31, 2010. Your name will appear on a special Awards page in our next issue of New Millennium Writings, 2011, due out in December, along with other finalists in our 29th Consecutive Awards. The winners and runners-up, including your entry, were selected from about 1,200 total submissions in four categories. The quality was high, and you should be proud of your accomplishment. We certainly are. Feel free to forward or copy this letter to anyone, to post it to blogs or paste it to other applications in order to print and or keep in a suitable format.<\/p>\n

By August 31, we\u2019ll contact any Honorable Mention winners we\u2019d like to publish. You\u2019ll receive your free copy of next year\u2019s issue before the end of January.<\/p>\n

In answer to other frequently asked questions, no, your good showing does not disqualify you from entering this or any other contest as often as you like, with this or any other work of your choosing. We accept non-contest general submissions in the months of January through March only. If you\u2019re interested in our next contest, which has a deadline of Nov. 17, 2010, please visit our website at www.writingawards.com, now undergoing re-design, or follow guidelines below.<\/p>\n

Mostly we just want to say we appreciate your interest in New Millennium Writings and the part you play in our success. Please tell others about us. Again, congratulations on your achievement.<\/p>\n

Sincerely yours,
\nDon S. Williams<\/p><\/div>\n

Don Williams, Editor and Publisher<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“If you are looking for a story of true romance, punctuated with heartbreak, then this is the story for you. This book’s value, however, goes far beyond being an engrossing memoir. It cuts right to the heart of the mental pathology which drives the violence of so much of the\u2026 read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52,"parent":20,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":181,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions\/181"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylaila.com\/laila-wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}