The Words of My Father

Summary (from the publisher): In this moving, candid, and transformative memoir, activist Yousef Bashir shares the powerful story of his adolescence living in Gaza during the Second Intifada, and how he made a strong commitment to peace, even in the face of devastating brutality.

Yousef Bashir grew up in Gaza, the soccer-mad son of a respected Palestinian schoolteacher whose belief in peaceful coexistence with Israelis was absolute.    

Their verdant ten-acre farm was a world unto itself; the Israeli settlement and military base next door were simply part of the scenery. This changed, however when Yousef was 11, with the start of the Second Intifada.  First came the shooting, then the occupation.  When Yousef’s father refused to leave the family home, Israeli soldiers moved in, seizing the top two floors as their command post.  For five long years, three generations of Yousef’s family were prisoners in their own home. Even so, Yousef’s father treated the soldiers as honored guests, his commitment to peace unshakeable. 

Even as Yousef’s family attracted international media attention, with letters of support pouring in from around the world, Yousef watched the destruction of his home, his neighborhood, and the happy life he had known with growing frustration and confusion. For the first time he wondered if his father’s position was justified and whether, if tested, he could possibly follow his example. Then, when Yousef was fifteen, standing in his own front yard, beside his dad and three UN observers, he was shot in the spine by an Israeli soldier. In the wake of an injury that put him in a wheelchair for more than a year, paralyzed from the waist down, he had to reckon—finally— with the words of his father. 

Yousef’s story is a powerful tale of moral awakening and the fraught, ferocious and profound relationship between a son and his father. Shot by an Israeli bullet, but healed by Israeli physicians, Yousef learned to walk again, and became an outspoken activist for peace.

Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this memoir from HarperCollins. 

In this memoir, author Yousef Bashir tells the story of his childhood and adolescence growing up in Gaza under occupation by the Israelis. When Yousef's father, a tireless advocate for peace, refused to leave the family home and make his children refugees, the Israelis simply took over the top two floors of their family home. While Yousef just wanted to be a typical kid and play soccer, he was forced to live with soldiers in his home who locked him and his family into their living room every night. Then, when he was fifteen, he was shot in the spine by an Israeli soldier and spent over a year in a wheelchair. This time away from his family and in the aftermath of the senseless cruelty of a strange forced Yousef to contemplate his father's dedication to peace. 

It was hard to imagine the force of his father's moral convictions to stay in his home even as the soldiers slowly destroyed his property, severely impeded his family's quality of life, and ultimately severely injured two of his children. In fact, his father received international attention as a result of his unusual choice. Given the circumstances, Yousef's frustration with his father's choice was easy to understand, which only made his eventual commitment to the same beliefs. 

I haven't read extensively about the Israeli occupation in Gaza and this was an interesting introduction. Beyond the issues that plagued the place of his birth, this memoir tells the story of a father son relationship. After spending much of his childhood frustrated by his father's choices and advice, Yousef ultimately came to deeply respect his father's views and has followed in his footsteps to be a strong advocate for peace. 

Stars: 4