Many people ask me if I am afraid of the public's reaction to my work, being lesbian, a mother, Arab-American, speaking out about the plight of Palestinian children...and more. The truth is that I have to believe that I am "me" for a reason and that reason is something of value to the world. Any act that can both integrate the fragmented pieces of myself and simultaneously empower and educate others is irresistible to me because that is the path that has unfolded in front of me. I must trust that path...that is my destiny.
In an interview with NPR in 2013, internationally acclaimed author Manil
Suri was asked about how he prepares to write a character like Jaz (the
character is very sexual male who is also gay and Muslim) and whether he
worries about backlash. Suri replied, "I sort of think — and this is something
that is true of all novelists, hopefully — that writers have to be somewhat
fearless."
Hearing this inspired me because I feel like, to walk on my authentic path, I
will have to be fearless...have to be fearless over and over and over
again.
Read the longer article available online at Tagg Magazine.
