Habib and Me

About the Book

What's a nice Jewish girl like Hannah doing with Habib, a young Diaspora Palestinian who clearly has an "ax to grind" with the world? And what does Habib, a twenty-seven-year old man want from a fifty-year-old Jewish woman?

While Hannah worries that her handsome and erudite young lover secretly wants a Jewish mother, her family and friends are concerned that she's been seduced into a dangerous trap. When they learn that Habib's parents were part of Yasser Arafat's inner circle, it only heightens their anxiety and concern. But Hannah is convinced that she and Habib can make a love-filled life together.

When they first lock eyes in the reception room of a nursing home in suburban Chicago, there's no denying the chemistry between them. As they leap headlong into uncharted romantic waters, they must confront the disapproval of family and friends along with their own personal, inner demons.

In Habib and Me author Hannah Shifra takes her readers into the heart, soul, and bedroom of an intense, unpredictable, and often sweetly funny relationship. It is a bittersweet tale of forbidden love-told with laughter and through tears-a memoir that gives a human face to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and invites readers to view a controversial political conflict from a more intimate and personal perspective.

About the Author

Hannah Shifra is a mental health counselor with an eclectic love life. She lives in Chicago with her cat, Shayna Punim. This is her first memoir.