Sipping from the Nile (Naggar)

Sipping From the Nile: My Exodus from Egypt
Jean Naggar, 2011
Amazon Encore
380 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781612181417


Summary
A memoir of the vanished worlds of an unusual childhood.

Born into a prominent, sophisticated Jewish family who spent time in Europe and lived in the Middle East, author Jean Naggar tells in this coming-of-age memoir the story of her protected youth in an exotic, multicultural milieu. To Naggar, her childhood seemed a magical time that would never come to an end.

But in 1956, Egyptian President Nasser’s nationalizing of the Suez Canal set into motion events that would change her life forever. An enchanted way of life suddenly ends from multinational hostilities, and her closeknit, extended family is soon scattered far and wide. Naggar’s own family moves to London where she finishes her schooling and is swept into adulthood and the challenge of new horizons in America.

Speaking for a different wave of immigrants whose Sephardic origins highlight the American Jewish story through an unfamiliar lens, Naggar traces her personal journey through lost worlds and difficult transitions, exotic locales, and strong family values. The story resonates for all in this poignant exploration of the innocence of childhood in a world breaking apart. (From the author.)