The Home That Was Our Country

A Memoir of Syria

By: Alia Malek

Narrated by: Alia Malek

At the Arab Spring's hopeful start, Alia Malek returned to Damascus to reclaim her grandmother's apartment, which had been lost to her family since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970. Its loss was central to her parent's decision to make their lives in America. In chronicling the people who lived in the Tahaan building, past and present, Alia portrays the Syrians-the Muslims, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and Kurds-who worked, loved, and suffered in close quarters, mirroring the political shifts in their country. Restoring her family's home as the country comes apart, she learns how to speak the coded language of oppression that exists in a dictatorship, while privately confronting her own fears about Syria's future.

The Home That Was Our Country is a deeply researched, personal journey that shines a delicate but piercing light on Syrian history, society, and politics. Teeming with insights, the narrative weaves acute political analysis with a century of intimate family history, ultimately delivering an unforgettable portrait of the Syria that is being erased.

Critic reviews

"In The Home That Was Our Country, Alia Malek masterfully weaves together the personal and the political, and in so doing creates an unforgettable portrait of modern Syria in all its complexities and tragedies. Malek renders multiple generations of family, friends and neighbors vividly but unsentimentally, and what emerges is a portrait of a great people held back by tyranny. As Syria suffers through its darkest days, she reminds us of the humans behind the statistics. Completely engrossing and lucid, the book explains Syria's devolution better than anything I've read."—Dave Eggers

"What Alia Malek has done in The Home That Was Our Country is nothing short of extraordinary. With deep love and clear-eyed honesty, she weaves together the story of a family and the history of a country. Malek addresses the personal and the political like no other writer I have read recently. This book is an urgent and necessary read."—Laila Lalami, author of THE MOOR'S ACCOUNT

"Alia Malek's beautiful, arresting portrait of a Syrian family over generations takes you straight to the heart of that country's agony. Malek brings you inside the intimate world of a Damascus apartment building, while weaving in her own experiences as a journalist-laying bare the struggle for freedom like no other work I know. The Syrian war is perhaps the most profound moral and political crisis of our era, and this unforgettable book will forever change the way you see it and the Middle East."—Anand Gopal, author of NO GOOD MEN AMONG THE LIVING

"Alia Malek has written a beautiful, nuanced account of Syria recalling its complex political and social history, its many peoples, and her own family in this vividly detailed memoir. For a deeper understanding of the past and of the present Middle East, read this book. It offers not easy answers, but the "rougher edges of truth" that allow for a more profoundly humanistic portrait of the region and the causes of the current unrest. I missed home as I read: the hospitality and customs and cuisine; the diverse inhabitants that make up the rich tapestry of the old cities and villages; the women, of all socioeconomic backgrounds, who form the backbone of family life-the way it once was."—Micheline Aharonian Marcom, author of THREE APPLES FELL FROM HEAVEN

Great book

Just finished the book “ The country that was our home” by Alia Malek. I enjoyed the writers eloquent skills, personal story telling and the reflection she was able to convey about her family history since the beginning on 1900’s as Syria was born then became independent finally falling under the control of one family for decades.
The unique things about Alia is
- she is very well qualified : a U.S. trained human rights attorney, Colombia university graduate journalist, a teacher of human rights at different colleges, and she worked as a humanitarian aid . A daughter to Syrian father from Midan and a Syrian mother from Hama’s country side , she lived her early life in Maryland while Syria lived in her heart since childhood.
- Alia lived the first two years of the revolution in Damascus and experienced it first hand enduring a lot of pressure at a time she could just stay safe in the US and rely on far away testimonials . She definitely showed courage reporting anonymously in major journals outlets risking her safety with the brutality of “ mukhabarat”
- Alia comes from a minority sect in Syria and her perspective stands strong against the notion that Assad regime is the only security and protecting minorities can have in Syria .
The book is a wonderful journey and I think it should be a must read - listen to for every Syrian let alone every human being with interest in Syria and the Middle East.
I hope that she works on an Arabic translation of the book, so the much of the isolated Arab audience due to language barrier can enjoy this work and learn from it .

Beautiful

A beautiful, haunting book about family, the past, and unspeakable loss. Lyrically read by the author with wit, care and pathos. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

Loved it

I was became enmeshed in this unique true story of a woman’s search for her Syrian life and heritage.
Than you

Syria as never read before

As a Syrian American I appreciate the great stories mentioned and the elegant style.
I encourage the author to write more .

Heartbreaking and Beautiful

I was looking for wider context on current circumstances in Syria than I could find in traditional reporting. This memoir is a loving tribute to a nation where citizens have been subject to increasing violence at home and decreasing attention and compassion from abroad. Beautifully read by the author, I definitely recommend to anyone hoping to better understand Syria.