Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening
This book took six years in the making. I wrote most part of it in Arabic and translated it into English. I shed tears and broke my heart 10s of times revisiting dairies, letters, photos, and memories kept locked. In a way, it was my best therapy.
This memoir is the first that is written with such intimacy and brutal honesty by any Saudi woman. I believe it won’t be the last but just the beginning of many to come to this world.
I’m honored and humbled by the attention my memoir got internationally. To mention a few, Oprah magazine named it #1 book for the summer read & Good Reads Choice Award 2017 ranked it #4 for the best memoirs of 2017.
I’m listing here some of the reviews & interviews about my memoir:
| TV
JUN 15 Amanpour / CNN / LINK JUL 16 Q&A / CSPAN / LINK Radio JUN 8 Fresh Air with Terry Gross / National Public Radio / LINK JUN 12 The World / PRI RADIO / Syndicated to 300 stations across North America / LINK JUN 17 State of Belief Radio / Interfaith Alliance / Interview with Rev. Welton Gaddy / LINK JUL 2 WMC Live with Robin Morgan / Women’s Media Center / LINK JUL 9 To The Best of Our Knowledge / NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO / LINK FEB 1 Library Journal / PrePub Alert / Library Journal / LINK APR 1 Kirkus Reviews / Review / Kirkus Reviews / LINK APR 15 Library Journal / Starred Review / LINK / Library Journal / LINK MAY 1 Islamic Horizons / Review / Review (May/June issue) MAY 15 Booklist / Review / Booklist Online JUN 1 BookPage / Review / Review (June issue) / LINK JUN 1 Ms. Magazine / Review / Review (June issue) JUN 1 Marie Claire / Feature Interview / Feature interview in Newsfeed section (June issue, on-stands May 16) JUN 9 Newsweek / Feature Interview / Interview with Nina Burleigh / LINK JUN 11 New York Times / Original Piece / Sunday Review / “I Left My Son in a Kingdom of Men” / LINK JUN 13 Associated Press (AP) / Review / Pick Up: Washington Post, Salt Lake Tribune, Albany Times Union, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Star Tribune, Arab News, News-Sentinel, Daily Herald, Observer-Reporter, Toledo Blade / LINK JUN 16 Time Magazine / Review / Capsule review JUN 17 New York Times / Author Profile / “The Saturday Profile” (Interview with Somini Sengupta) / LINK JUN 22 Muslim Observer / Review / LINK JUL 1 O, The Oprah Magazine / Summer Roundup / Summer Reading Room (July issue) / LINK JUL 1 Women’s Review of Books / Review / Review under consideration JUL 5 Shelf Awareness / Reading With… / Feature / LINK JUL 8 USA Today / Q&A / LINK Local US TV JUN 23 Portland, ME / NBC (WCSH – Portland) / Nightly News / LINK Local US Radio JUN 13 New York, NY / WNYC / Leonard Lopate Show / NPR affiliate / LINK JUN 18 New England / WICN-FM / Inquiry / NPR affiliate JUN 19 Santa Cruz, CA / KUSP-FM / The Agony Column / NPR affiliate JUN 19 Berkeley, CA / KPFA-FM / Letters and Politics / LINK JUN 20 Dallas, TX / KERA-FM / Think! / NPR affiliate / LINK JUN 21 Los Angeles, CA / KPCC-FM / Air Talk with Larry Mantle / NPR affiliate / LINK JUN 23 Boulder, CO / KGNU-FM / Booktalk / NPR affiliate / LINK JUL 7 St. Paul, MN / MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO / The Thread / NPR affiliate / LINK Local US Print JUN 11 SACRAMENTO BEE / Book Mention JUN 13 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR / Review / LINK JUN 18 DALLAS OBSERVER / Feature Interview / Interview timed to event with Dallas/Ft. Worth World Affairs Council on 6/20 / LINK JUN 20 New York Minute Magazine / Article with book mention / LINK JUN 25 Virginian Pilot / Review / Capsule review / LINK JUL 1 Tallahassee Democrat / Summer Roundup / LINK Online TK Washington Post / Feature Interview / Interview with Adam Taylor for WorldViews (Foreign Affairs blog) TK MIC.com / Feature Interview / Interview with Sarah Harvard TK The New Republic / Book Review MAR 19 Me, You, and Books / Blog Review / 4 Stars / LINK MAY 8 Parchment Girl / Round-up / “50 Amazing New Books You Need to Read This Summer” / LINK MAY 31 Jewish Journal / Round-up / “Five Top Summer Books and Where to Meet the Authors” / LINK JUN 1 Bustle / Round-up / “The 14 Best Nonfiction Books Coming Out in June 2017” / LINK JUN 2 BookRiot / Round-up / “Inbox/Outbox” / LINK JUN 5 New Jersey Law Journal / Event Coverage / Article in advance of NJ Bar Association event (June 12) / LINK JUN 5 Bitch Magazine / Round-up / “17 Books You Should Read in June” / LINK JUN 8 Shelf Awareness / Media Heat / Listed Fresh Air interview / LINK JUN 10 Quartz / Quote / LINK JUN 12 The Cut (NYMag.com) / Serial Excerpt / Arranged by S&S Sub Rights / LINK JUN 13 New York Journal of Books / Review / LINK JUN 14 Smashing Interviews Magazine / Interview / Interview / LINK JUN 19 Literary Hub (lithub.com) / Feature Article / Interview with Sabrina Toppa / LINK JUN 20 World Affairs Council / Podcast / Global IQ Minute podcast JUN 22 The News Wheel / Review / 5 out of 5 stars / LINK JUN 22 The Cut (NYMag.com) / Round-up / “9 Books We’re Reading This Month” / LINK JUN 23 Reuters / Feature Interview / LINK JUN 26 Reading & Eating / Blog Review / LINK JUN 30 Slate / Podcast / Live at Politics and Prose (podcast) / LINK JUL 1 Wear Your Voice / Review / LINK JUL 14 Muftah Magazine / Review / LINK |
| QUOTES
“This eye-opening memoir recounts al-Sharif’s journey from religious radicalism (she melted her brother’s cassettes in the oven because the music was forbidden) to women’s rights activist in Saudi Arabia, imprisoned in 2011 for driving a car.” “An intimate and powerful book from what is hopefully only the first of many Saudi voices to speak out.” “[al-Sharif] has written a vital, inspiring book, describing her journey from abused schoolgirl to ‘Saudi Rosa Parks,’ leading the charge the world over for human rights and the simple freedom to take a seat behind the wheel.” “A striking, nuanced memoir of what it means to “drive while female” in Saudi Arabia. … It is the story of [al-Sharif’s] traditional Saudi upbringing, her youthful radicalization, and her eventual change of heart that makes for a truly eye-opening read. … Fascinating, powerful, and heartbreaking, al-Sharif’s story should be required reading. Perfect for readers interested in Middle Eastern affairs, gender politics, and international women’s rights, as well as the role of social media in worldwide activism.” “An intimate look at life for women growing up in Saudi Arabia and the challenges of seeking major social change.” “Daring to Drive is a brave, extraordinary, heartbreakingly personal story of one woman’s battle for equal rights, told through the minute details of an everyday life that boiled over after years of frustrations. … The book provides a rare glimpse into Saudi society, and especially into the lives and emotions of women. … Al-Sharif presents a…valuable and honest view: a look into the hearts and minds of people who live in a society that is mostly off-limits to Westerners. Her literary achievement is that despite the huge cultural differences, Daring to Drive shows that Saudi women and men have dreams and fears much like our own.” “Clear-eyed.” “Eye-opening.” “For readers who are unaware of the dirty side of Saudi society, “Daring to Drive” is an eye-opening account of everything the world has missed.” “Sure to be a summer best-seller. … A great and empowering story.” “Daring to Drive…takes readers in to a fascinating world usually closed to western audiences. … al-Sharif is a woman of extraordinary courage shaped by the restrictions placed on her by society. Daring to Drive is a testament to how women in Muslim countries are helping change their culture, one step at a time.” “Al-Sharif tells her story in clear, readable prose… [and] provides readers with unusual insight into what it means to be a woman under Wahhabi. … Daring to Drive is an important book.” “Inspiring.” “Al-Sharif’s transformation from religious radical to feminist champion is incredibly inspiring and I can’t wait to read her story.” “Remarkable.” “If you’re searching for an inspiring memoir, Daring to Drive should be on your must-read list.” “If you consider yourself interested in women’s rights or the cultures of other lands, Daring to Drive should be a mandatory addition to your reading list.” “This book will piss you off and make you want to fight for women’s rights in a way no empowering Dove campaign could.” |
Manal al-Sharif 