“And So We Drive On: Short Stories” Out Now

It’s here, finally.

Finally, it’s here.

Despite feeling rather hopeless as the world seems to be falling apart, especially in Lebanon, I couldn’t be happier to share with you the release of my first book. “And So We Drive On” is a collection of short stories inspired by Lebanon and life in Beirut, a city many of us love to hate and hate that we love.

“A mother encounters her son, arbitrarily detained during Lebanon’s civil war, revealing almost everything she wanted to know about his dreadful ordeal. A nearby shooting causes an unexpected detour, unveiling a desolate Beirut, hidden behind pitch-black nights and unfinished buildings. A soon to retire spy returns to Beirut and reestablishes contact with a former asset, but is he the one being spied on this time?”

This excerpt – taken from the back cover synopsis of the book – should give you if only a flavor of what to expect from the stories, which I truly hope you will like, enjoy and appreciate, each in their own way.

The timing of this release may seem awkward. I agree that it is rather unexpected. But after living in the Middle East for so long, I’ve learned that there is seldom a good time for anything, so when it’s time, it’s just time. Let alone for a writer, who knows that when it’s time to write, then that’s the time to do so, and when the book is complete, it just has to see the light.

But in some other way, there may not have been a better time to release this book, if only as a deep-seated act of defiance, a clenched fist in the face of the hopelessness that Lebanon has been sowing in our spirits for decades. In other words, as much as Lebanon will remain an eternal source of inspiration, it is also a destructive force in its people’s lives, destroying their hopes, dreams and ambitions. My act of defiance today was in refusing to have it destroy yet another of my dreams, of publishing my book, and a determination to, always and no matter what, drive on… 

The book is available in Lebanon at Libraire Antoine – all branches, Halabi Bookshop, Salon Beyrouth, Thinkers – Zahle and Aaliya’s Books, as well as across the world on AntoineOnline.com, Lebzone.com, BuyLebanese.com and Halabi Bookshop. Catering to the Gulf region, the book is also available in the UAE at Virgin Megastore in Dubai, online via VirginMegastore.ae and Kinokuniya (in bookstores and online). More online and offline points of sales will be announced as they become available on eyeontheeast’s social media, including Facebook and Twitter. For more information or issues finding the book, media requests or any other inquiries, please get in touch via eyeontheeast.org@gmail.com .

Drive on…