“The Road from Morocco is an emotional rollercoaster ride that begins in traditional Muslim Morocco, and wends its way across Europe and the United States. I could not put the book down as I immersed myself in the tale of a 13-year old girl, who is forced into an arranged marriage to a much older man she doesn't love. Her misery is the catalyst for her rebellion against the restrictive, male-dominated culture.
Her struggle and thirst for self-determination is passed, like a torch, to her daughter Wafa, who recounts this tale and continues the journey with her mother, and beyond, to flourish in the traditionally male-dominated world of Wall Street banking. The American dream comes crashing down around them post 9/11. You will find yourself rooting for Wafa to summon all the strength of her spirit to rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes.
Any woman who has grown up bucking tradition, or has ridden the coat-tails of those who have, will relate to this story in a personal way. It is filled with the types of heartaches and joys we all experience as we try to achieve success while sharing our lives with men and maintaining a family in this modern world. The Road from Morocco is a celebration of the strength and ability of the female spirit to triumph in the face of adversity.” Robin Rescigno Karnis, Shelter Island, NY
“The Road from Morocco is the kind of book you find yourself staying up all night to finish. In the tradition of great biography/autobiography like Jung Chang's "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China" the author takes us on a multi-generational journey in this heart-wrenching tale of betrayal, metamorphosis and eventual redemption. Wafa Hallam's first book reads like a novel. Beautifully written. To be savored.” Nancy J. Wollin, Sarasota, FL
“It's a romance; it’s a history; it's a tragedy; it's a comedy; it's a psychological study--no it's a memoir combining elements of all these. From the first page to the last, this book reads like the truest of fiction--creating and drawing the reader into a fascinating world and into the lives of the author and her incredible mother.
This memoir is a double life story beginning with that young girl, married off at thirteen to a much older man she despised, who managed to wrest herself and her children from a miserable life in a repressive society to gain a freedom uncommon for her time and place. Her courage set the author on her own path to freedom and self-discovery.
Hallam writes with sensitivity and insight, holding nothing back--falling in love and giving all of her heart and soul. I swear steam rises from the pages at times! Her writing candidly recreates moments of sorrow and joy--sharing her flaws and regrets as well as her triumphs and amazing success. I read it in one evening because I couldn't put it down.” Joanne Weck, author of Crimson Ice. Fort Lee, NJ
"Wafa Hallam's story is gripping, I flew through the pages. It was educational (I checked for each location on a map, googled many items that I was unfamiliar with), mesmerizing and emotional. Although her experiences were so very different from anything that I have ever been through, I was certainly able to identify with many of the basic challenges that she faced. I was able to see how similar we all are on the inside, regardless of our individual experiences. The resolution and enlightenment she achieved has inspired me to attempt to follow in her footsteps. Thank you for writing this book!" J. Edwards, Long Island, NY
“THE ROAD FROM MOROCCO by Wafa Faith Hallam is a Luck & Pluck saga in the tradition of Horatio Alger. Wafa could be a heroine in one of Horatio Alger's tales. She's an immigrant pilgrim who leaves the Old World for the New seeking her fortune; she finds it but also experiences challenges, success, failures, and redemption on her path to peace and happiness. Her story is interesting and enchanting for its simple honesty, candor, and surprises! Very well written and edited, reads like good fiction.” James B. Johnson, Hudson, FL
“From the heavenly fragrance of an orange grove blooming, to the stench of 9/11, told with compelling honesty, The Road From Morocco is an articulately emotional journey - scanning generations, cultures, countries and especially paints the feminine: as daughter, sister, lover, wife, mother, breadwinner, caretaker. Moving through a desert of insurmountable influences, Ms. Hallam battles indoctrinations to arrive at a spiritual oasis where life blooms with purpose and meaning. I couldn't put this book down.” Sarabelle Prince, East Hampton, NY
“This book surpassed any expectations. It is the best memoir I read in ages. I was reading the Jane Fonda Biography and I left it, because I could not put this book down. I wished that it would go on and on( without the author's suffering).The Road From Morocco is really in a class by itself; very honest and straight from the heart.” Cecilia K. Karol M.D. Edgewater, NJ
“I absolutely loved this book!! This is a Must Read for Book Clubs! Like an exotic Moroccan rug, Wafa Hallam beautifully weaves a rich personal narrative with a story of changing roles and options for women in the world. The Road to Morocco elegantly combines history and a literary biography. Her story, while unique and personal, is a story with a universal theme of how our families past and present shape our lives. It's beautiful even in the heartbreaking moments and utterly exquisite in the pleasant ones. I especially liked the rich, colorful descriptions of Morocco: the clothes, the interiors of homes, the family parties, etc. I read this while on a trip, but felt like I had a vacation within a vacation! It really transports you to another place. I'd also like to thank the writer for sharing her very personal story with me!” Christina Carter, Southampton, NY
“The Road from Morocco by Wafa Faith Hallam is one of the most beautifully written books I have read. The author has a real gift for captivating the reader from the very start. I felt like I was taking the journey with her from cultural history to the challenges and choices we make in our lives to the strength and wisdom that comes from our experiences. The last chapter, ‘Awakening,’ was one of my favorites. I found it inspiring, clear and hopeful to witness the transformation of inner growth to inner peace.” Joanne Kane, Hampton Bays, NY
“Set aside a weekend to read this wonderful book because you will not want to put it down. Your heart will ache for the beautiful Moroccan child-bride and her life in captivity. You rejoice about her freedom when she is finally released from marriage, but there is intense sadness and depression as she struggles with emotional instability. Although living free in America, the daughter of the Moroccan child-bride lives a parallel life of captivity and misery until she discovers the miracle of living in the "now". The author has the ability to expose her flaws, and then heal herself with the writing of the book. This book is much more than a memoir, it provides a path for living a life of happiness.” Andrea Mears, Vero Beach, FL
"I finished reading the excellent "Road from Morocco" memoir. Fascinating and powerful and really a page turner. The writing was wonderfully candid, very visual, poetic, and sometimes even prosaic! The author's journey is filled with love and passion, loss and heroism, adventure, and redemption. Through the twists and turns of life Hallam finds her way through her spiritual growth. I hope she writes a book describing her spiritual journey because it is authentically derived. She is from the heart but practical too!
This is a great read, would be a good book club choice or for anyone who wants to feel what it's like to come from an Arabic country to live a Western life." Deirdre Kidder, Brooklyn, NY
“What a story! I promise you will not want to put this amazing book down. Wafa Hallam's story is so compelling that you simply must find out what the next chapter will hold. The story begins in Morocco with the wedding of a thirteen year old girl to a man many years her senior. Wafa was born of that union when her mother was only sixteen, barely out of childhood herself. Perhaps this is why there is such an amazing bond between these two women, in a way they grew up together. Hallam’s style of writing makes you feel as if you were there, seeing, touching, tasting, smelling everything that is Morocco and as their lives unfold everything that is the journey ahead. It is a story of one woman's tumultuous passionate life, lived to the fullest and far from finished. I hope someday she will share her continuing story with us, I've no doubt it will be filled with her discoveries about how to live a truly inspired and meaningful life.” Anne Tait, Lancaster, PA
“That Wafa Faith Hallam has the skills to write is very evident… her personal life laid bare as a memoir in THE ROAD FROM MOROCCO. She offers some of the finest explanations about the ways of life in countries where women have traditionally been viewed as second-class citizens, the property of men, denied basic human rights, and how a few women have had the courage to alter that perception. Hallam also relates in fine detail the political history of her native Morocco and in doing so gives powerful insights into the types of government and the rise and fall of leaders in that area of the world that is the source of oil at present and the source of a rich history of culture and wisdom…To read THE ROAD FROM MOROCCO is to fall in love with Wafa Faith Hallam: she earns our respect and affection easily.” Grady Harp, Amazon Top 50 Hall of fame reviewer
Note: Find all the above reviews and more at Amazon.com
“The more I read into Wafa Faith Hallam’s The Road from Morocco, the more I realized I was holding a book that—if all literary lights are not dimmed by convention—should become an instant classic. I honestly cannot recall a time when an autobiographical account has spoken to me as forcefully as Hallam’s memoir. In fact, I never ever read anything remotely comparable to it. Hallam’s trailblazing book shatters literary and social conventions with such force that it is bound to provoke strong reactions. The book contains precious lessons about why freedom and equal rights matter, why the male oppression of women in Arab and Muslim societies is a sad farce, why rich life experiences are still the only reliable ingredient for a soaring story, and why identity is a complex construct that is nearly impossible to tease apart.” Professor A. Majid, University of New England, Portland, Maine (For the full REVIEW go to: http://www.tingisredux.com/opinion/faith_abundant.html)
