"Most days I wanted to call you, feeling a need to tell you what was happening. To explain the war inside me... But each time I picked up the phone, I pictured your scrunched and twisted face, the refugee camps of your childhood, the seven children, the loneliness, a far worse war inside you. Slowly I put the phone down, ashamed."

"Why am I telling you all this? What is the relevance of it? I can imagine how you might respond to these words: You think that’s painful? It’s nothing, nothing compared to what I’ve endured."

This story follows a young Palestinian American woman as she reconciles with the trauma from her childhood and the internalized guilt she feels about being ungrateful for the life she has. It delves into her struggles with marriage & motherhood, finding her own happiness, and her refusal to succumb to the same fate as her mother.

Heartbreaking and yet still hopeful, this compelling story explores the themes of generational trauma, mental health, motherhood, and cultural/ societal expectations in the Palestinian diaspora.

Etaf Rum has a powerful voice and I highly recommend this short story.