Landing in Place: A Graphic Novel - by Sherine Hamdy

Book Synopsis

A poignant coming-of-age graphic novel about an Egyptian American girl's search for identity and belonging in college, her family, and the wider world.

Anisa is following in her sister Reem's footsteps: She's a freshman at her sister's alma mater, she's on the same pre-med track, and she even uses Reem's old textbooks. Even though Anisa would prefer to study art, her parents don't see that as a valid career. The path laid out before her quickly turns bumpy as Anisa struggles to feel like she belongs, whether it's in her organic chemistry class or with the other Muslim students on campus.

When Anisa fails her first semester, she begs her parents to let her take time off and stay in Cairo with family--away from her overbearing mother and in the care of her beloved grandfather. Finally free to have her own experiences, Anisa begins a journey of self-discovery as she questions familial, societal, and religious expectations, discovers how the political is personal, and explores her own artistic voice. When Anisa returns to the United States, she wrestles with what kind of young Muslim woman she wants to be--and finds freedom in charting her own path.

About the Author

Sherine Hamdy is a professor of anthropology at University of California-Irvine. Her academic book, Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt (UC Press) is taught widely in courses on Islam and medical anthropology throughout the country. She is also the co-author of the graphic novel Lissa (Still Time), published with the University of Toronto Press ethnoGRAPHIC series in 2017. Born in New York to Egyptian parents, she grew up in Mexico City and currently lives in Irvine, CA, with her husband and two daughters.

Myra El-Mir has illustrated several books published in the Arab world, including two books by Samar Mahfouz Barraj Khatt ahmar (Red Line), which won the Arab21 Award in 2015, and Ummi wal-tadkhin (Mom Smoking) which was shortlisted for the Etisalat Award in 2012. Myra has also worked in animation, including the Adventures of Salwa, a Lebanese campaign against sexual harassment that aired on Lebanese television and cinema.