Bookmarks and the Wake Forest University's Women's Center are pleased to present Etaf Rum. This virtual event will be moderated by Naijla Faizi, Associate Chaplain of Muslim Life. 

This is a pay-what-you-can event. Karl the Kraken knows we are facing tough times right now. So if you are able to purchase a copy of the book below, that would be great! But if you are not in a position to do so at the moment, feel free to pay what you can below. *Any donation amount, even a small donation, is appreciated.* A portion of the proceeds will be given to the Amir Institute.

About Etaf Rum
Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Palestinian immigrants. She lives in North Carolina with her two children. Rum also runs the Instagram account @booksandbeans. A Woman Is No Man is her first novel.

About A Woman Is No Man
"Where I come from, we’ve learned to silence ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence will save us. Where I come from, we keep these stories to ourselves. To tell them to the outside world is unheard of—dangerous, the ultimate shame.”

Palestine, 1990. Seventeen-year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. Over the course of a week, the naïve and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married, and is soon living in Brooklyn. There Isra struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law Fareeda and strange new husband Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children—four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear.

Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda’s insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. Deya can’t help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when Deya was only eight. But her grandmother is firm on the matter: the only way to secure a worthy future for Deya is through marriage to the right man.

But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family—knowledge that will force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, the past, and her own future.

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Bookmarks has a zero tolerance policy for harassment of any kind in person or social media, including but not limited to: Stalking; intimidation; offensive verbal comments; physical assault and/or battery; harassing or non-consensual photography or recording; sustained disruption of programs, panels, signings, and other events; bathroom policing; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome physical attention, in relation to, but not limited to: race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, gender presentation, sexual orientation, age, body size, ability, appearance, religion, citizenship, pregnancy. If a person engages in harassing behavior, Bookmarks Staff will take prompt action in any form they deem appropriate, including but not limited to expulsion from the Bookmarks sponsored event or premises. This policy applies to everyone (exhibitors, attendees, authors, speakers, guests, press, staff, board members, and volunteers) at all of Bookmarks events and programming. Anyone can report harassment. If someones behavior has made you uncomfortable, or if you witness the same happening to someone else, you should immediately contact Bookmarks staff or security. In this virtual landscape, we ask that you remain respectful as you would for an in person event. We will remove and ban you from virtual events if you submit any inappropriate content, offensive or of any nature that does not pertain to the event visually, verbally, or in written content. If removed from the event, you will not receive a refund of any kind.