A Diaspora Experience
By Dr. Shirin Zarqa-Lederman
Somewhere between here, there, and everywhere, there are stories worth telling.
A Diaspora Experience is a collection of personal essays exploring the intersections of faith, family, psychology, liberation, diaspora and belonging. Some reflections draw on the stories we inherit and the relationships we navigate. Others question what psychology has taught us about healing, resilience, and adapting to circumstances we probably shouldn't have to adapt to in the first place. And then there is diaspora itself; the complicated business of belonging to more than one place, carrying memories that aren't entirely our own, and trying to make sense of identity, home, and everything in between.
These essays are part personal reflection, part professional curiosity, and occasionally an attempt to find a little humor in the absurdity of it all. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I've enjoyed writing them. And perhaps, somewhere along the way, you'll find a little something of yourself in these stories, too.
Where Are You Really From? And Other Questions Nobody Asked You to Ask
Growing up Palestinian in America, I've never been particularly confused about who I am. What has occasionally confused me is everyone else's need to figure it out. For people in diaspora, identity comes with a rather interesting set of expectations. We're encouraged to assimilate, but not lose our culture. We're expected to preserve our language, but preferably not speak it too loudly in public. And we're supposed to appreciate the privilege of belonging to two worlds, even when neither seems particularly interested in making room for us. It's a remarkable arrangement. Whatever you do, someone will be disappointed.