Letters to My Son

This book is dedicated to all immigrants and children of immigrants. The book contains eight letters in English with the original Arabic version included as well. These eight letters are in fact a personal account of my feelings as a father, an immigrant, and a poet, towards my son. They are an emotional register of the dilemma of alienation, exile and loneliness that faces every immigrant, Lebanese or not, who, for various circumstances, leaves his or her country and emigrates abroad. These letters are a private record, a personal portrayal of my inner struggle. I put it out there in hopes that it may mirror the experience of many other immigrants and highlight their attachment to their first born in a foreign country with the feeling of joy mixed with guilt of attempting to raise a child without the support of family while desperately trying to provide a connection with the customs, traditions and culture from which the immigrant descended. It is my hope that any Lebanese, Arab or other immigrant families read their own reflection in these letters.