A Prairie Girl: Living in Baghdad

By Jan Keating

Book Overview

Sarah Powell, born and raised in Weyburn, Saskatchewan in 1908, falls in love with an Arab Muslim man when they meet while attending university in the United States in the 1920s. Against her parents' wishes, Sarah moves to Baghdad and marries Dr. Mohammed Fadhel al-Jamali. The couple have three sons, the eldest of who contracts encephalitis, and his mental development is arrested at age five. Sarah struggles to balance her career as Head of English at the university of Baghdad with a sick child, raising her other two sons and supporting her husband in his career which evolves from Director General of Education, then Director General of Foreign Affairs and finally to Prime Minister of Iraq. A kind and progressive-thinking man who was ahead of his times, Dr. Jamali faces a military coup d'etat in 1958 that results in riots, murder and imprisonment. It is a true story of love, devotion, courage and "grit" of a Prairie Girl who endures great challenges in life while living in Baghdad.

Author Jan Keating crafts a vivid narrative, seamlessly blending personal and political threads to achieve an immersive experience into a cross-cultural love story set against the canvas of historical events. The prose is so beautifully smooth that it often feels like you're reading a sweeping novel of adventure, heartache and personal drama, only to be starkly reminded that this incredible woman and her story are real.
K.C. Finn - Readers' Favorite Review

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08GVGCHL6
• ISBN13: 9798676964719
• Release Date: August 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 404 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"