My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

I always enjoy a collection of interwoven short stories, and Behind You is the Sea was no exception. It follows several Christian Palestinian-American characters as they navigate relationships, both familial and romantic, grief, racism, cultural appropriation, terminal illness and more. Other reviewers have pointed out that there is some problematic depictions of a 'hero' police officer, plus the story featuring an autistic child could have benefitted from a sensitivity reader (the story uses outdated terms for autism & the mother is grateful her son doesn't have 'a more serious disability'). But I think overall there is a lot this collection offers in terms of the Christian Palestinian-American experience. As Tasnim (@reads.and.reveries) pointed out in her review, these perspectives are all too often erased as they do not serve the narrative the white west tries to push of Palestine. 

I think my favourite story was Worry Beads, which follows a lawyer with a troubled personal past. Her marriage ended in violence and as a result she was unjustly cast out of her family home. But she meets someone new, aged 40, and there is such a joyous depiction of finding love in 'later' life. But amid the new love, Darraj portrays the tragedy of dementia, which robs us of the people we love even as they're still here. 

A moving read, with some shortcomings, but one I'd still recommend with caution to the content warnings.