Émile Lahood served in various positions in the Lebanese military, holding the title of commander-in-chief of the army for almost ten years. In 1998 the Lebanese Parliament amended the constitution to allow the commander-in-chief to run for office, and Lahood was subsequently elected as President of Lebanon.

What happened to a former Miss Egypt when she took to wearing the veil under her pilot’s cap? Who are the young people posting videos of policemen torturing crime suspects? Where do Coptic Christians celebrate the Holy Family’s journey to Egypt? Why is President Hosni Mubarak still ruling Egypt, virtually uncontested, after more than 25 years in power?

In this unique memoir, renowned poet, fiction writer, critic, and activist Marjorie Agosin writes in the voice of her mother, Frida, the daughter of European Jewish immigrants, living in Chile in the years before, during, and after World War II.

To complement the novels in Garnet’s award-winning Arab Women Writers series, In the House of Silence is a collection of autobiographical writings by thirteen leading Arab women authors. Through these testimonies the women describe their experiences and expose the often difficult conditions under which their narratives were woven. Patterns emerge, which run throughout their testimonies – experiences of confinement, subjugation, the struggle for education and the eventual use of writing as a way out.