Synopses & Reviews
David Harris-Gershon and his wife, Jamie, moved to Jerusalem full of hope. Then, in the midst of a historic cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians, a bomb shrieked through Hebrew Universitys cafeteria. Jamie was hurled across the room, her body burned and sliced with shrapnel; the friends sitting next to her were instantly killed. David was desperate for answerswhy now? why here? why my wife? But when a doctor handed him some shrapnel removed from Jamies body, he refused to accept that this bit of metal made him one of us”another traumatized victim who would never be able to move on. Instead, he dug into Israeli government records to uncover what triggered the attack, then returned to East Jerusalem to meet the terrorist and his family.
Part memoir, part political thriller, part exposé of the conduct of the peace process, this fearless debut confronts the personal costs of the Middle East conflictand reveals the human capacity for recovery and reconciliation, no matter the circumstance.
Review
"An arduous, brave, messy, raw, emotional journey."
Kirkus Reviews
Review
"An arduous, brave, messy, raw, emotional journey."
Kirkus Reviews
"Harris-Gershon's prose and storytelling abilities are matched only by his deep and moving compassion and humanity, all of which spillout on every page of this amazing book." - Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
"This book is an act of forgiveness. It does what all great non-fiction does, which is to look with ruthless honesty at that which is most beautiful and terrible within all of us - friend, enemy, lover, stranger. A beautifully written, brave and compassionate book." - Sarah Messer, author of Red House
"An immensely compelling and intelligent memoir that leads the reader through anger and confusion towards reconciliation and hope." - Richard Zimler, author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Warsaw Anagrams
Review
A harrowing experience
becomes a potent lesson for personal growth
[Harris-Gershons] honesty and humility give the memoir historical context, and ultimately elevate his story from the individual to the universal.”
Time Out New York"Fierce... A tale of redemption and new beginnings and of truly embracing the other. Harris-Gershons story is not really about Middle East politics so much as it is a story of healinga debate about whether South Africanstyle reconciliation and restorative dialogue can really bring about closure after an event of unspeakable pain and violence." Slate
"Brave and impressive." Guardian
"It is a story about how a great personal trauma can lead to a journey that upends long-held beliefs and ideas. The terrific thing about this book is that the author manages to tell his story without sentimentality, grandiose pronouncements, or false humility. He pulls the reader in with his unpretentious, laconic style, and with his refusal to shy away from acknowledging his own flaws." Daily Beast
"This enormously compelling title smashes preconceived notions while delivering an unforgettable and provocative story about the roots of terrorism and the nature of victimhood... Bracing, intense, and relentless, this is a book about how we as humans get to the darkest of places and the questions we must ask to find our way out. A transformative reading experience." Booklist, starred review
"An arduous, brave, messy, raw, emotional journey." Kirkus Reviews
"Harris-Gershon's prose and storytelling abilities are matched only by his deep and moving compassion and humanity, all of which spillout on every page of this amazing book." Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
"This book is an act of forgiveness. It does what all great non-fiction does, which is to look with ruthless honesty at that which is most beautiful and terrible within all of us - friend, enemy, lover, stranger. A beautifully written, brave and compassionate book." Sarah Messer, author of Red House
"An immensely compelling and intelligent memoir that leads the reader through anger and confusion towards reconciliation and hope." Richard Zimler, author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Warsaw Anagrams
Synopsis
David Harris-Gershon and his wife, Jamie, moved to Jerusalem full of hope. Then, mere days after Israel thwarted historic cease-fire negotiations among the Palestinians, a bomb ripped open Hebrew University's cafeteria. Jamie's body was sliced with shrapnel; the friends sitting next to her were killed.
When a doctor handed David some of the shrapnel removed from Jamie's body, he could not accept that this piece of metal changed everything. But it had. The bombing sent David on a psychological journey that found himdigging through shadowy politics and traumatic histories, eventually leading him back to East Jerusalem and the Hamas terrorist and his family. Not out of revenge. Out of desperation.
Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, this fearless debut confronts the personal costs of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and our capacity for recovery and reconciliation.
About the Author
David Harris-Gershon is a popular online columnist for
Tikkun magazine, the
Jersualem Post, and
Daily Kos. He received his MFA from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and his essays, creative writing, and poetry have been published in
Colorado Review,
Passages North,
Burnside Review,
Pebble Lake Review, and many others.
Table of Contents
A Note to the Reader
I. The Bombing
II. Disconnection
III. Recovery
IV. Collective History
V. Reckoning
Acknowledgments