
Pulled by the Heart : a woman’s real-life story of living and escaping the Middle East by Nancy T. Wall, 2009.
Nancy T. Wall grew up in Neenah so it’s natural that we would be especially curious about her story. She leaves Wisconsin for Beirut Lebanon to begin married life with Maher, a Syrian who attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Nancy has a lot to adjust to – a new lifestyle, new foods, cultural traditions, her husband’s family, the language and, oh yes, a Civil War in Lebanon. Nancy writes about her children and the various locations in the Middle East that she lives in or visits – it’s an insider’s account – more personal and descriptive of everyday life than a travelogue. It’s interesting to learn about the foods she eats, shopping, her homes, raising children and what it is really like to live with extreme heat, sandstorms and a monster rainstorm. As a member of a well-to-do family she also travels to Europe and visits her Wisconsin family. Suddenly, her story changes dramatically! She is in danger! At this point in the book, I began reading the pages as quickly as possible and stayed up late to finish the book!
When I met Nancy I asked her the question she said audience members at many of her author talks had also asked: “Have you been on Oprah?” And with the recent Academy Awards, I might ask Nancy when she comes to the Oshkosh Public Library on April 14 at 7:00 pm – do you think Sandra Bullock should play you in a movie version?--JD