This Is How We Survive

Revolutionary Mothering, War, and Exile in the 21st Century

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This Is How We Survive (2019, PM Press)

208 pages

English language

Published May 19, 2019 by PM Press.

ISBN:
9781629635569

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4 stars (1 review)

4 editions

Glad I read it

4 stars

I'm reviewing this book mainly because barely any reviews came up when I searched for them (promotional blurbs don't count), which is disappointing. There's a lot to talk about, & it deserves serious engagement.

For me, the central portion of the book covers Mai'a's years in Egypt, where she first ended up after getting jailed (with her kid) & kicked out of Palestine by israel, & eventually leaves after basically being harassed out of the loose activist “community” she tried to foster through the revolution. The themes built upon from the chapters about her earlier transnational experiences, of simultaneous solidarity & conflict with others in struggle, state violence & “intracommunal” policing, really come to a head. The constant misogynoir she mentions almost in passing seems to practically reach a fever pitch in Cairo, which she is careful to remind readers is an African city. At some point, my gut reaction …

Subjects

  • Social movements
  • Social action
  • Motherhood