Kirjahaku

A Boundless Tale of Love. Replenishing the Sea of Galilee is a sweeping story of love, loss and the power of loyalty in the face of conflicting ideologies and religious beliefs. The story begins in 1940s Palestine where twins Rasheed and Rasheeda Dinar work in their family inns. Educated by a Jesuit priest about the essence of his own Muslim religion, relative to love and sex, Rasheed follows closely the teachings of his mentor and includes Rasheeda, so that she learns those teachings as well. When Rasheed falls in love with Natalia, a Jewish woman, he is able to apply what he learned from the priest to his budding relationship. However, it is the 1940s, and relations between Arabs and Jews are tense. Before long, those tensions come to a breaking point. Natalia mysteriously disappears, and Rasheed and Rasheeda are chased out of Palestine to Beirut, Lebanon. Years pass, and though Rasheed continues to miss his beloved Natalia, he gets word of a surprising visitor—someone he didn’t even know existed. Rasheed’s life is upended, but in the most wonderful way. As the Dinar family expands and enters the 1970s, their convictions are tested. In a dramatic final scene, the family reunites and proves once again that the thin line separating people because of their differences is powerless against the strength of family, love, and loyalty.

For fans of Khaled Hosseini, Anita Diamant, and Isabelle Allende comes a sweeping story of love, loss, and the power of loyalty in the face of conflicting ideologies and religious beliefs. The story begins in 1940s Palestine where twins Rasheed and Rasheeda Dinar work in the family's inns. When Rasheed falls in love with Natalia, a Jewish woman, he applies what he learned from the Jesuit priest who mentored him to his budding relationship but by then relations between Arabs and Jews have become tense. And when those tensions come to a breaking point, Natalia mysteriously disappears, and Rasheed and Rasheeda are chased out of Palestine forced to flee to Beirut, Lebanon.As the years pass and the Dinar family expands and enters the 1970s, their convictions are tested. Until the family reunites and proves that the thin line separating people because of their differences is powerless against the strength of family, love, and loyalty.

The Life of Yara Shaheen-Palestinian Refugee, French Belle, American LawyerAmman, Jordan. 1963. Sixteen-year-old Yara has only ever known life in a Palestinian refugee camp, but when she receives an opportunity to work in Paris for the summer, the trajectory of her life shifts entirely. In the care of the sophisticated Allard family, Yara is introduced to city life and habits and experiences a sexual awakening with the family's son.The Allards help Yara secure a spot at Berea College in Kentucky, where she has further romantic adventures and meets Moens Thomasson, a half-Black student who has ambitions of becoming a Supreme Court justice. As Yara progresses through higher education, she meets influential friends including Rachel and Jameela, whose families adopt Yara by affection. When Moens suddenly reappears in Yara's life, she discovers he is a manipulative sexual predator who holds troubling racial views and resorts to life-threatening measures to reach his goals. Enlisting the help of Rachel, Jameela, and family members, they set into action a lengthy battle, legal and otherwise, that could jeopardize their standing with the university and the authorities. Yet through all of this, the three friends prevail and end up forming tight bonds, even finding love in unexpected places.

The Life of Yara Shaheen-Palestinian Refugee, French Belle, American LawyerAmman, Jordan. 1963. Sixteen-year-old Yara has only ever known life in a Palestinian refugee camp, but when she receives an opportunity to work in Paris for the summer, the trajectory of her life shifts entirely. In the care of the sophisticated Allard family, Yara is introduced to city life and habits and experiences a sexual awakening with the family's son.The Allards help Yara secure a spot at Berea College in Kentucky, where she has further romantic adventures and meets Moens Thomasson, a half-Black student who has ambitions of becoming a Supreme Court justice. As Yara progresses through higher education, she meets influential friends including Rachel and Jameela, whose families adopt Yara by affection. When Moens suddenly reappears in Yara's life, she discovers he is a manipulative sexual predator who holds troubling racial views and resorts to life-threatening measures to reach his goals. Enlisting the help of Rachel, Jameela, and family members, they set into action a lengthy battle, legal and otherwise, that could jeopardize their standing with the university and the authorities. Yet through all of this, the three friends prevail and end up forming tight bonds, even finding love in unexpected places.