
First Comes Marriage
My Not-So-Typical American Love Story
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Narrated by:
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Jeed Saddy
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By:
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Huda Al-Marashi
About this listen
When Huda meets Hadi, the boy she will ultimately marry, she is six years old. Both are the American-born children of Iraqi immigrants, who grew up on opposite ends of California.
Hadi considers Huda his childhood sweetheart, the first and only girl he's ever loved, but Huda needs proof that she is more than just the girl Hadi's mother has chosen for her son. She wants what the American girls have - the entertainment culture's almost singular tale of chance meetings, defying the odds, and falling in love. She wants stolen kisses, romantic dates, and a surprise proposal. As long as she has a grand love story, Huda believes no one will question if her marriage has been arranged.
But when Huda and Hadi's conservative Muslim families forbid them to go out alone before their wedding, Huda must navigate her way through the despair of unmet expectations and dashed happily-ever-after ideals. Eventually she comes to understand the toll of straddling two cultures in a marriage and the importance of reconciling what you dreamed of with the life you eventually live.
Tender, honest, and irresistibly compelling, First Comes Marriage is the first Muslim American memoir dedicated to the themes of love and sexuality.
©2018 Huda Al-Marashi (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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I had to stop listening for awhile because I didn’t want the story to end
- By Tracy on 01-28-20
Immediately, it feels as though you know Huda and are sitting down to hang out with her. Her writing style is just so personal & Jeed Saddy does a perfect job at making you feel right at home; her voice is full of such warmth.
While Huda’s life and family/relationship dynamics are very different from my own, I was still able to relate my mom to her mom (strong personalities full of love and a mischievous sense of humor), and nothing felt so different as to create division - rather the differences felt both celebrated & understood in a very intimate way.
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Like talking to a best friend
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Such a wonderful story of a young girl becoming a mature woman
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Towards the middle she begins to whine incessantly and comes off as a spoiled unrealistic brat. It takes compassion and empathy to complete the book without ripping your hair out and writing it off as another woe is me memoir.
I discovered that the redemption comes in empathy. Being able to witness a young mind evolve from a "sky is falling, self centered irrational" state to a better "you" is worth the listen.
The inner dialogue is brutal and runs the gamut of remorse, jealousy and so much more.
The narrator is phenomenal and conveys the emotions exquisitly.
Thank you Huda Al-Marashi for your honesty and vulnerability!
First Comes Whining and then Comes Appreciation
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To give credit, the writing was not bad and the narration was also good.
Tale of a selfish brat
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The narrator certainly made this possible.
A capturing and moving book
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Enjoyed this reflection
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Also, the narration is one of the worst performances. It’s up and down with infliction. If the volume is reasonable, you still miss parts, because the reader is mumbling like she’s acting out the performance, instead of just reading it. Then you turn up the volume and next, she’s yelling. I finished it, because I related to the story. But it was frustrating.
Depression
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