Daughters of the Same Secret

Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction Constrained by the confines of her patriarchal, religiously-observant Druze community, Amal dreams of a life outside of her conservative, isolated village in Mount Lebanon, where many of life’s big questions remain ignored and unanswered. Amal’s father, a shaykh and blacksmith, wields the hammer of his authority over the family to shape the future of his four daughters according to his understanding of appropriate behavior for women. Her parents’ conservative beliefs stand in the way of her deepest desire—to pursue higher education and study at the American University in Beirut. To achieve her goal of getting an education, Amal decides to strike a deal with a local, wealthy Druze businessman with a captivating smile. She bargains that Salem will help to secure her freedom. Will Salem keep his promise? Or will Amal face a new struggle to achieve her dream? In her touching and poetic debut novel, Haneen Al-Sayegh paints a vivid picture of the little-known, isolated religious Druze community of Mount Lebanon. Daughters of the Same Secret delves deeply into the human cost of the turmoil faced by women searching for their own path in a conservative society. This novel is a literary contribution to the struggle for freedom in its broadest sense. It is about motherhood—as both a predicament and an opportunity—and about love that transcends geographical, religious, and cultural boundaries.