We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir

Finalist for the National Book Award and a Best Book of 2023 by NPR

A subtle psychological portrait of the author's relationship with his father during the twentieth-century battle for Palestinian human rights.

Aziz Shehadeh was many things: lawyer, activist, and political detainee, he was also the father of bestselling author and activist Raja. In this new and searingly personal memoir, Raja Shehadeh unpicks the snags and complexities of their relationship.

A vocal and fearless opponent, Aziz resists under the British mandatory period, then under Jordan, and, finally, under Israel. As a young man, Raja fails to recognize his father's courage and, in turn, his father does not appreciate Raja's own efforts in campaigning for Palestinian human rights. When Aziz is murdered in 1985, it changes Raja irrevocably.

This is not only the story of the battle against the various oppressors of the Palestinians, but a moving portrait of a particular father and son relationship.

Author: Raja Shehadeh
Publisher: Other Press (NY)
Published: 03/28/2023
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.85w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781635423648
ISBN10: 1635423643
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Cultural, Ethnic & Regional | Arab & Middle Eastern
- Biography & Autobiography | Social Activists
- Biography & Autobiography | Personal Memoirs

About the Author
Raja Shehadeh is Palestine's leading writer. He is also a lawyer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books including Strangers in the House, Occupation Diaries, and Palestinian Walks, which won the prestigious Orwell Prize.