A Beirut Heart: One Woman's War - Softcover

Sultan, Cathy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0976520117 ISBN 13: 9780976520115

Publisher: Mighty Media Press, 2005

Synopsis

As a young woman Cathy Sultan dreamed of living in a foreign land. She realized that dream in 1969 when she move with her Lebanese husband and two infant children from the United States to Beirut- a city known for its welcoming residents, breathtaking landscape and cosmopolitan culture. Sultan quickly grew to adore Beirut despite its seedy side, and came to think of it as her dysfunctional lover. Even after the onset of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 her feelings were slow to change. Using cooking as a tranquilizer, Sultan worked tirelessly to provide a home environment that was comforting to her family and inviting to friends. Even as bullets pierced her own kitchen and bombs destroyed the ancient city and the lives of loved ones, she and her family refused to be driven from their home and their humanity. A Beirut Heart: One Woman's War is the riveting story of how a wife and mother struggled to maintain order and normality amid the unspeakable cruelty of civil war.

About this title

About the Author

Cathy Sultan, a native of Washington D.C., grew up with a yearning to experience other cultures. Her dreams came true in 1969 when she moved with her Lebanese husband and two small children from the U.S. to Beirut, Lebanon – a city then known for its welcoming residents, lovely Mediterranean climate and exotic blend of Arab and Western culture. For six years she led the life of her dreams. Her home was a rooftop apartment with a terrace full of flowers and a breathtaking view of the city. She was accepted and loved as a Lebanese. Her husband had a successful medical practice and her children were growing up speaking English, French and Arabic. But in April 1975, the Phalange militia attacked the Palestinians in East Beirut and this was the spark which set off fighting all over the country. Sultan’s tranquil treelined street, two blocks from the National Museum, became a deadly territorial divide: the infamous Green Line, separating East from West Beirut – a deadly war zone. But despite the constant danger, her feelings for the city were slow to change. Instead of leaving the place which had become home, she and her family remained amid the fighting with the hope that a solution to the conflict would soon be found. Between getting her children to school after bomb blasts and comforting her husband whose days were spent treating wounded civilians, Sultan used cooking as a way to feel normal in all the madness. She found solace in the kitchen and in her own way fought back against the madness of war by entertaining friends and family with wonderful meals. A Beirut Heart: One Woman’s War – a memoir about her experience as a wife and mother living daytoday for eight years of the bloody Lebanese Civil War – is her second book. Her first book, Israeli and Palestinian Voices: A Dialogue with Both Sides, will be reissued by Scarletta Press in 2006. Sultan and her husband reside in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She currently sits on the Executive Board at the National Peace Foundation where she directs Middle East educational projects. She is also involved with “Women in Black” – a group that stands in silent vigil to protest war, ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses. She is in the process of writing another book about the Middle East.

Review

"Cathy has combined a dramatic story of life in the Lebanese capital with the complexities of Middle Eastern politics."
—Don Betz, PhD, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-River Falls

“Sultan writes a compelling story of survival ... This is a must-read for everyone with any interest in what happens to a family under siege.”
—Colleen McElroy, Professor of English, University of Washington, Seattle

About this edition

• Publisher: Mighty Media Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0976520117
• ISBN 13: 9780976520115
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264