Waseem

Lilas Taha is a writer at heart, an engineer by training, and an advocate for domestic abuse victims by choice. She was born in Kuwait to a Syrian mother and a Palestinian father, and immigrated to the U.S. as a result of the Gulf war in 1990.She earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Kuwait university and a master’s degree in Human Factors Engineering from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. There, Lilas met her beloved husband and true friend, and moved with him to Texas to start a family. She is the proud mother of a daughter and a son.Pursuing her true passion for creative writing, Lilas brings her professional interest and Middle Eastern background together in her novels.

Praise for Waseem“Lilas Taha empathically presents the uncertain lives--marked by misery, but also humor, laughter, joy--of a Palestinian community trapped in a Lebanese refugee camp.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review“A heart mender and a heartbreaker, Waseem is a deeply moving tale of how life and love persevere in the ruins. Taha is a marvel.” —Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao“Waseem marks Lilas Taha as a writer to watch. You’ll laugh out loud, shake with rage, and battle back tears as Taha’s unforgettable protagonist fights for a better life in a Palestinian refugee camp. Like Huckleberry Finn and Scout Finch, Waseem is a character you never want to leave behind—he lives and breathes on these pages, and that’s a testament to Taha’s wonder of a novel.” —Ross Barkan, author of Glass Century“Taha weaves the political and the personal into an enthralling, fast-moving story, showing how Palestinians’ life events and needs might be similar to everybody else’s, were it not for the fact of their dispossession.” —The Jordan Times“A beautiful and moving tribute to the strength of the human spirit and the endearing power of love.” —Ann Weisgarber, author of The Glovemaker