PERSONAL QUESTIONS PRESENTED TO THE AUTHOR:

Q. Is this novel based on events in your life? I can’t imagine such a moving story that doesn’t come from an author’s personal life experiences.

A. Thank you for the compliment, but no! I have never been institutionalized,
and my husband is alive and well!

Q. Is there anything in the novel that is in some way from your personal life?

A. Yes, some of Amal’s childhood is borrowed from mine—the pranks she played against the
old neighbour, the raids on vineyards and pomegranate groves and such. Also, taunting
Phatoon, the challenged woman in the novel, was a real person that I knew.

Q. Your characters are so alive and real. Are they your own creations or are they the real
characters?

A. In part, the character of the grandmother is modeled after my own Taita. Only the
personality of the mother is patterned after my own mom. All other characters are
fictional.

Q. Is your ending taken from real life? I like it, but I feel Amal should have shown more
kindness to her mother.

A. No, the ending is the way I wanted Amal to solve her problems her way—to remain and help
other patients. The ending is one that has got both praise and negative criticism, depending
on the reader’s personality. The ending was a very challenging part of the novel.

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