Amal Awad

Set in Sydney, Australia, Courting Samira is a charming and frothy romantic comedy about a twenty-seven-year-old Muslim woman who finds herself in an unexpected love triangle--a sparkling ode to meddling best friends, traditional courtship, The Princess Bride, and, of course, the possibility of love. Coming from a moderately traditional Muslim family, twenty-seven-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz has endured her fair share of arranged matches--first dates she calls "doorknock appeals," where she and her possible suitors eat snacks in her living room in the company of both sets of parents. Her general rule: no shoes with tassels, no cheesy leather jackets, no mustaches. A girl has to have some standards, right? The truth is, Samira is already experiencing enough wedding drama as an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine and as a gofer for her soon-to-be-married cousin and nemesis Zahra. She's not sure she needs to add any of her own. When she meets the charismatic Menem at a work retreat, Samira finds herself intrigued. But her best friend Lara insists Menem isn't right for her, and now her childhood friend Hakeem has begun behaving oddly. Adding to the confusion, Samira is offered a promotion, yet isn't sure it's the job of her dreams. Suddenly, her life is full of drama and complications, and she realizes that part of growing up is making difficult choices about what--and whom--she really wants.

A Novel

Courting Samira

A Sceptical Believer's Journey Through the New Age

In My Past Life I Was Cleopatra

The Things We See in the Light

Magnificent. Surprising. Illuminating. Australia needs this book. NIKKI GEMMELL As someone who has a foot in both the Western and Arabic worlds, Amal set out to explore the lives of Arab women, in Australia and the Middle East, travelling to the region and interviewing more than sixty women about feminism, intimacy, love, sex and shame, trauma, war, religion and culture. Beyond Veiled Clichs explores the similarities and differences experienced by these women in their daily lives - work, relationships, home and family life, friendships, the communities they live in, and more. Arab-Australian women are at the intersection - between Western ideals and Arab tradition. It can get messy, but there is also great beauty in the layers. In a time of racial tension and rising global fear around terrorism, there is a renewed fear of 'the other'. At its heart this fascinating book normalises people and their experiences. The breadth, variety and beauty of what Amal has discovered will enthral and surprise you.

The Real Lives of Arab Women

Beyond Veiled Clichés

"Guilt is an emotion for which I have no time. It's exhausting, stops you from having any fun, and is the equivalent of one of those T-shirts that says 'I went to [insert adventure] and all I got was this lousy T-shirt'."In recovery mode after a messy divorce from a non-Muslim man, Lara Abdel-Aziz is estranged from her family and out of touch with her best friend Samira. She works in a fast food shop in Sydney, but also sings at a local bar. The owner, Leo, is good company, but her only other interactions are with mostly-absent flatmate Icky, and new age store owner Angela, who wants Lara to work for her and get in touch with her higher self.Lara is comfortably on autopilot until a near-assault at work forces her into counselling and she must start to unpack the events of her life. Meanwhile, an encounter with someone from her past leads to an unlikely connection.

This is how You Get Better

"So I was turned off a suitor when I saw his shoes. Despite the Arab warrior preference, I didn't really care about looks. But I had a general rule: if the suitor came in wearing shoes with tassels, a leather jacket circa 1982, and/or a moustache, the doorknock appeal would fail from the outset. A girl has to have some standards, right?" It may be the 21st century, but who says courtship is obsolete? Coming from a (not-quite- traditional) Muslim family, 27-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz knows all about it. But as an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine, she's pretty sick of all things wedding-related. Surely there's more to life than suitors and marriage? Then Samira unwittingly becomes wedding gofer for her cousin/nemesis Zahra and her life begins to resemble a Spanish soap opera - minus the skimpy clothing and the bitch-slaps. This story is a light-hearted but honest peek into the life of a young, single Muslim woman living in Sydney - the joys of a blossoming romance (all very proper), the courtship rituals (so Jane Austen), the struggle with career and, of course, Arab Guilt.

Life is like an etch-a-sketch. It's only ever clear when it's brand new. After that, no matter how much you wipe over the previous stuff, you can always see the scratch lines, and it never looks the same again. In survival mode following a messy separation, Lara Abdel-Aziz is estranged from her family and out of touch with her best friend Samira. Making ends meet by working a dead-end job at a fast-food shop, she also sings at a local bar, where she enjoys the freedom to be whoever she likes. Bar owner Leo is good company, but her only other interactions are with her mostly absent flatmate Icky, and her neighbour Angela, who owns a New Age store and desperately wants Lara to get in touch with her higher self. After a break-in at work forces Lara into counselling, and an encounter with an old friend leads to an unexpected connection, she must start to unpack the events of her life and make peace with the past. But are some things too broken to ever be fixed? A moving story of healing, connection and fate.

This is How You Get Better

Amal Awad's life changed when her father was diagnosed with kidney failure. It was a shock to see the impact it had on him, both physically and mentally, and the way the side effects trickled onto those around him. Work had always made him feel whole and retirement was a challenge. On a mission to help her father and support her mother, Amal began spending every Friday with her parents. She saw the gaps in discussion around ageing and sickness. Amal's personal experiences prompted her to explore how Australians are ageing, how sickness affects the afflicted and those around them, and what solutions exist when hope seems lost. So many people are similarly navigating a new reality - weeks dotted with doctor appointments; conversations that deplete and reveal at the same time; reshaped family relationships. Amal speaks with doctors, nurses, an aged care psychologist, specialists, politicians, ageing people living alone and others in a retirement village, to gain insights and to consider solutions. At a time when ageism and health is high on the public's radar, what we're not always talking about is how to deal with the anxiety, depression and overall challenges that come with someone you love facing their mortality and a decline in health. Fridays with My Folks shares heartfelt, honest stories that will help others who are in similar positions. People who are having to reorient themselves when the boat has taken a battering and they have to take a new direction. This book stems from personal experiences, but it expands to a much wider, more universal discussion about life, suffering, coping and hope.

Stories on ageing, illness and life

Fridays with my Folks

Sometimes you have to lose everything to find yourself... The lake in the middle of her father's kitchen is only the first in a series of disasters in Zeina's life. Nassar's recent health crisis has seen his well-established community restaurant, Casablanca, losing ground and customers to trendier competition. Casablanca's deterioration is not the only chaos in Zeina's world but, unlike her husband who won't speak to her, her best friend who is sliding towards self-destruction, and her cousin who is stealing Zeina's life story for content, the restaurant is something she can fix. And Zeina, lonely and adrift, needs something she can fix. Taking leave from her prestigious chef position, Zeina throws herself into caring for her ailing father, immersing herself in the familiar foods and flavours of her childhood, trying to save both him and his restaurant. But working in the kitchen – and her childhood home – brings memories, secrets, and unexpected ambitions simmering to the surface. When it comes time to make hard decisions, Zeina will have to accept that growing up is an ongoing process – one that never gets any easier.

Bitter & Sweet

It may be the twenty-first century, but who says courtship is obsolete? Coming from a (somewhat-traditional) Muslim family, twenty-seven-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz has seen her fair share of suitors. Her general rule: if he comes in wearing shoes with tassels, a leather jacket circa 1982, and/or has a moustache, the doorknock appeal will fail from the outset. A girl has to have some standards, right? As an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine, Samira's sick of all things wedding-related. Then she unwittingly becomes wedding gofer for her cousin/nemesis Zahra and her life begins to resemble a soap opera. When she meets Menem in a chance encounter at a team-building day, for the first time Samira knows what it's like to naturally be interested in someone. But with that comes a whole new set of problems. How do you get to know someone when the options seem to be to get married or end up a spinster? Why is her best friend Lara insisting that Menem isn't right for her? And why has her childhood friend Hakeem started behaving so strangely? A light-hearted but honest peek into the life of a young, single Muslim woman who knows there's more to life than love at first suitor visit.

A humorous and incisively-reported look at the new 'new age' - from the divine to the absurd - from SBS journalist and TedX presenter, Amal Awad.

Amal Awad's life changed when her father was diagnosed with kidney failure. It was a shock to see the impact it had on him, both physically and mentally, and the way the side effects trickled on to those around him. Work had always made him feel whole, and retirement was a challenge. On a mission to help her father and support her mother, Amal began spending every Friday with her parents. She saw the gaps in discussion around ageing and sickness. Amal's personal experiences prompted her to explore how Australians are ageing, how sickness affects the afflicted and those around them, and what solutions exist when hope seems lost. So many people are similarly navigating a new reality - weeks dotted with doctor appointments; conversations that deplete and reveal at the same time; reshaped family relationships. Amal speaks with doctors, nurses, an aged care psychologist, specialists, politicians, ageing people living alone and others in a retirement village, to gain insights and to consider solutions. At a time when ageism and health is high on the public's radar, what we're not always talking about is how to deal with the anxiety, depression and overall challenges that come with someone you love facing their mortality and a decline in health. Fridays with My Folks shares heartfelt, honest stories that will help others who are in similar positions. People who are having to reorient themselves when the boat has taken a battering and they have to take a new direction. This book stems from personal experiences, but it expands to a much wider, more universal discussion about life, suffering, coping and hope.

For as long as humans have existed, we have consulted everything from the stars to stones with symbols on them. Growing up in an Arab Muslim family, SBS journalist and TEDx presenter Amal Awad was keenly aware of the unseen forces at play in her life - superstition, fatalism and magical jinn were more real to her than any Hollywood fantasy. From religious devotion to New Age love and light, Amal has tried ... a lot. While this doesn't make her an expert in healing your life, it does makes her a well-versed one, fluent in the boundless healing modalities on offer in our ever-expanding retail universe. From psychic mediums and spirit guides to Paleo diets and empowerment, there are questionable (and downright fraudulent) solutions being sold to the masses. Yet, arguably, there is still a lot of good to be found in these offerings. In this funny and shrewdly observed book, Amal shares her personal journey to peace and empowerment via a wide array of psychics, healers and witches, considering the smorgasbord of spiritual thinking on offer for people wanting to #livetheirbestlife and exploring whether these practices can help, harm or both in the quest for spiritual enlightenment.

Amal Awad

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