The good old days

A new journey takes us through the lives of fifty Lebanese women, as described by Amal Nasrallah. Her warm and affectionate writing, rich yet understated and dense without ostentation, guides us through her personal worlds, never diminishing our sense of alienation. This writer, who never resorted to criticizing the pretentious professionalism of our "golden age," reminds us of names we've forgotten, and others she hasn't yet introduced, through her perspective and her insights. Here, the focus is primarily on women. Women who are fighters, each in her own way, in the public or private sphere, openly or silently: from Queen Edvik Jreidini Cheboub to Fatima Senoussi, the pioneering Ibtihaj Qaddoura, and the first Lebanese opera singer, Samia Hajj, even the fortune teller Fatima, and Marta, the octogenarian student at the new university. Nasrallah's womanhood is more than just ink. They also took a turn at the hands of the illustrator Jean Mechalani, who diligently accompanied the passionate journalist, adorning her articles in the pages of Al-Sayyad magazine for years. It is a rich, ethical, and visual journey, where the personal and the public intersect to transcend the limitations imposed on journalists and writers, reaching into the wider realm of the homeland and society. In a new journey, Emily Nasrallah takes us to Lebanon in the 1950s. With her warm, affectionate style and rich, yet subtly understated prose, she guides us through her world, making us feel at home. The writer, still at the height of her journalistic career, shares her experiences of the "golden age," as we call the 1950s and 60s in the Arab world, reminding us of names we had forgotten and introducing us to others we hadn't known, through the faces she met and interviewed. Most of them are women, each a fighter in her own way, in the public and private spheres, openly and publicly: from Edwige Guerradini Chboub to Queen Fatima al-Sanousi, from the leader Ibtihaj Qaddoura to the first Lebanese opera singer, Samia al-Hajj, and even Fatima al-Arafa and Martha, the octogenarian student at the American University of Beirut. Nasrallah's women were not merely figures on paper; they were also brought to life by the artist Jean Michelani, who accompanied the passionate journalist and illustrated her articles in the local Lebanese magazine "Al-Sayyad" for years. It is a journey rich in spirit and visuals, where the personal intersects with the public, transcending the boundaries of journalistic and literary narrative to reach the world of the nation and society.