One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

De: Omar El Akkad

Narrado por: Omar El Akkad

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From award-winning novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad comes a powerful reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its fundamental values

“I can’t think of a more important piece of writing to read right now. I found hope here, and help, to face what the world is now, all that it isn’t anymore. Please read this. I promise you won’t regret it.”—Tommy Orange, bestselling author of Wandering Stars and There There

On October 25, 2023, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” This tweet has been viewed more than 10 million times.

As an immigrant who came to the West, El Akkad believed that it promised freedom. A place of justice for all. But in the past twenty years, reporting on the War on Terror, Ferguson, climate change, Black Lives Matter protests, and more, and watching the unmitigated slaughter in Gaza, El Akkad has come to the conclusion that much of what the West promises is a lie. That there will always be entire groups of human beings it has never intended to treat as fully human—not just Arabs or Muslims or immigrants, but whoever falls outside the boundaries of privilege. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This is a chronicle of that painful realization, a moral grappling with what it means, as a citizen of the U.S., as a father, to carve out some sense of possibility in a time of carnage.

This is El Akkad’s nonfiction debut, his most raw and vulnerable work to date, a heartsick breakup letter with the West. It is a brilliant articulation of the same breakup we are watching all over the United States, in family rooms, on college campuses, on city streets; the consequences of this rupture are just beginning. This book is for all the people who want something better than what the West has served up. This is the book for our time.

©2025 Omar El Akkad (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"It is difficult to understand the nature of a true rupture while it is still tearing through the fabric of our world. Yet that is precisely what Omar El Akkad has accomplished, putting broken heart and shredded illusions into words with tremendous insight, skill and courage. A unique and urgently needed book.—Naomi Klein, author of Doppelganger

"[A] bracing memoir and manifesto.... With precision and passion, [El Akkad] compels readers to close the emotional distance between 'us' and 'them' and to consider the immense suffering of civilians with renewed urgency."—The New York Times

"One Day is powerful, angry, but always compelling in its moral logic, and damn hard to put down.... by the end my heart was drumming.... For me it was cathartic, almost spiritual....It is an important book, a must-read"—Dina Nayeri, The Guardian

Heartbreaking; and not to be missed.

A beautifully sad book from a much needed perspective. In this moment of deafening silence around the genocide, I desperately needed to hear this voice. Absolutely everyone should read or listen.

Perspective

Words can’t possibly match the feelings I had after reading this book. I am grateful for your words and thoughts. It is said that one cannot have empathy unless one experience the same event—your book has allowed me to connect in a way that will allow me a better understanding and connection of those living in this nightmare and how complacency in the western world is truly a sin!!! I will do better!!

Thoughtful,thought provoking and honest

The subject matter, the hard truths and the examination of life, war, and its consequences.

Heartbreaking in a way only a journalist can do it.

Omar’s account of events and seeing them through his eyes makes you feel like you’ve witnessed them too. I cried through this book. I felt bewildered. Angry. Hopeless. Defeated. And then he built me back up with hope for a future worth fighting for. My final words I will echo the title: one day, everyone will have always been against this. Free Palestine. Ceasefire now. Peace for the Middle East.

Thought provoking read

This book is incredibly thought provoking and well written. An eye opening response to the current state of society. Everyone should read it.

Western liberalism’s broken moral compass

Omar El Akkad’s “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” is a profound and unflinching examination of Western liberalism’s moral contradictions, particularly in response to the devastation in Gaza. El Akkad, drawing from his rich background as a journalist and novelist, offers a collection of ten interrelated essays that weave personal narrative with incisive critique. His measured yet impactful prose challenges readers to confront the ethical implications of silence and complicity in the face of systemic violence.

Glimmer of Hope

I liked it all. It should be required reading for everyone. Despite being one of those liberal yard sign owners who even flies a Palestinian flag, it is hard to accept how hypocritical and dishonest we Americans are regarding the plight of not only the Palestinians but all those less fortunate than ourselves. It so important understand that we must be willing to give up something, perhaps even a lot, to implement change. The country is going down an even darker path than when this book was published. The time to stand up is now. It is the ending of the book that at least gives me some hope that we can change. Because despite all the horror and atrocities he has seen and experienced, the author still finds a glimmer of hope in the goodness of mankind. I surely hope he’s right.

Exquisite

The book was an exquisite articulation of all of the hypocrisies of the current moment - in particular the genocide of Palestinians while the world watches and does nothing.

Complete and truthful assessment of current situation in Gaza

Every sentence spoke thousand words. This book needs to be studies and not just read. I found it extremely raw, honest and descriptive of exactly what is currently happening in Gaza and US involvement.

*they* benefit from our fragmentation

Skip the news cycle. I look for art to speak truth to life. This is some of the best writing I've heard in a while. Thank you.