The obsession with food filled my childhood - that's what happens when your parents are from a place or time where people really might starve. In America, my Jordanian father spent decades cooking professionally and pursuing his dream of a… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
I heard friends and strangers saying, "You don't look Arab - what are you supposed to be?" It really is a tired old problem for children of immigrants and kids of mixed race, constantly trying to explain yourself. Eventually, you… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
If you only write for 15 minutes at a time, you can write a book and still have time for Legos. — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
“The streets of Aqaba are shell spirals and, on summer nights, crowded and complicated as a woman's heart.” — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
I'm constantly at war with myself to quit goofing around, and the internet hasn't helped that any. I've learned that I have to be… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
“Sometimes when she lies awake her body feels as finely made as a tuning fork. She can hear and smell the most delicate things,… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
The daily writing practice is something I used to hear batted around a lot in writing workshops - which is probably why I dropped… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
“...tasting a piece of bread that someone bought is like looking at that person, but tasting a piece of bread that they baked is… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
“She thinks of Stanley's colored pencil drawings of theoretical businesses: a cafe, a bookshop, and, always, a grocery store. When she was ten and… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
“The loneliness of the arab is a terrible thing; it is all consuming. It is already present like a little shadow under the heart… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
“She's been scouted by Ford and Elite- real New York agencies. Micah, the agent for Elite- a tall black guy in silver eyeliner- said… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
“On the top rack is a cooled and decorated seven-layered 'opera' cake. Her client- the Peruvian ambassador- had requested a "tropical" theme for a… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
Here is something you have to understand about stories: They point you in the right direction but they can't take you all the way… — Diana Abu-Jaber Copy Share Image
