Upside-Down Love - by Sari Bashi (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

With a message of hope that is both timely and timeless, Upside-Down Love is an extraordinary memoir--irreverent, funny, and profoundly uplifting--of an Israeli lawyer, a Palestinian professor, and a love that transcends all division.

Osama is a Palestinian professor, originally from Gaza, who cannot leave the West Bank city of Ramallah. Sari is an Israeli-American lawyer and long-distance runner who petitions Israel's Supreme Court for his right to travel freely. When the case began, neither expected to fall in love--and when it was over, nobody expected their love to endure.

First published in Hebrew in 2021, Osama and Sari's star-crossed romance--an intimate, vulnerable portrait of an astoundingly resilient Israeli-Palestinian relationship--has since become a beacon of hope in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. Now on its way to becoming an international cult sensation, Upside-Down Love speaks to the unique circumstances of this specific moment in history, while also illustrating a timeless truth: Love will triumph over bigotry and destruction.

Review Quotes

"Throughout the book, you will read, feel, and exclaim at the story of [Osama] and Sari's journey in the occupied territories."

-- "Mehdi Hasan, Zeteo"

"[A] heartfelt debut...This intimate real-life love story brings welcome humanity to a fraught subject."

-- "Publishers Weekly"

"An extraordinary story about the tenacity of love in the face of brutal injustice."

-- "Peter Beinart, editor at large of Jewish Currents and author of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza"

"[A] beautifully written, improbable story of two lovers trying to build a life together...She is an Israeli Jew from America, he a Palestinian Muslim from Gaza living in the West Bank. That their unlikely relationship survives speaks to the strength of their love."

-- "Kenneth Roth, author and former executive director of Human Rights Watch"

"If you thought your love life was complicated, wait until you see it through Sari Bashi's eyes. Honest, bold, and deeply human, this is a love story like no other."

-- "Tirana Hassan, former executive director of Human Rights Watch"

"In a time of great brokenness, along comes this song of possible repair. Sari Bashi's memoir is a powerful and vital indication that the best things can occur, even in the face of all available evidence. Every once in a while we can change our perspective and begin to turn the world upside down."

-- "Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin"