PREFACE MY SISTERS VEIL(a poem) Tonis Veil: A beautiful face is never enough To guarantee love, success, and trust. Torn and conflicted by what they see and say Maybe theyre right Its better their way. They always win, So of course we would choose To perpetrate a look That will never lose. Ill just take it to the twelfth degree So it appears self righteously To be me. So bury the mirror, And who you really see. And bury the hatred Of who you really be. Then its easy to forget the grief And promise yourself You can become A respectable Thief! Terris Veil: Restless and young With nothing to lose. Thrown into your world Unblemished, unbruised. Ready to grow, and trust and learn, But guns fill your hands before you discern The value of life, community and respect A simple way to mask your intellect. Apprentice of self-destruction, A king with no crown Frustrated and confused, By the systematic run around. Yet a gnarly lesson awaits to prove Its by your own hand You win or you lose! Tinas Veil: Abandoned and ashamed Afraid and unloved I hid my pain As innocently as a dove. The Lord answers prayers So invisible Ill be cause my blllack and nappy Embarrasses thee. If only but For a genuine veil, Id lose myself In self-medicated hell. But no need to worry, No need to fret Their yaki hair and blue contacts Are easy to get. Spare not a dime For value and worth Designer labels and gold To our pride gives birth. So strut on high, and lively, and proud As you die slowly With a legacy Broken and loud!

This “masterfully woven…literary home run” (New York Journal of Books) follows four women across generations, bound by a beautiful wedding veil and a connection to the famous Vanderbilt family from the New York Times bestselling author of the Peachtree Bluff series. Four women. One family heirloom. A secret connection that will change their lives—and history as they know it. Present Day: Julia Baxter’s wedding veil, bequeathed to her great-grandmother by a mysterious woman on a train in the 1930s, has passed through generations of her family as a symbol of a happy marriage. But on the morning of her wedding day, something tells her that even the veil’s good luck isn’t enough to make her marriage last forever. Overwhelmed, she escapes to the Virgin Islands to clear her head. Meanwhile, her grandmother, Babs, is also feeling shaken. Still grieving the death of her beloved husband, she decides to move into a retirement community. Though she hopes it’s a new beginning, she does not expect to run into an old flame, dredging up the same complicated emotions she felt a lifetime ago. 1914: Socialite Edith Vanderbilt is struggling to manage the luxurious Biltmore Estate after the death of her cherished husband. With 250 rooms to oversee and an entire village dependent on her family to stay afloat, Edith is determined to uphold the Vanderbilt legacy—and prepare her free-spirited daughter Cornelia to inherit it—despite her family’s deteriorating financial situation. But Cornelia has dreams of her own, and as she explores more of the rapidly changing world around her, she’s torn between upholding tradition and pursuing the exciting future that lies beyond Biltmore’s gilded gates. In the vein of Therese Anne Fowler’s A Well-Behaved Woman and Jennifer Robson’s The Gown, The Wedding Veil is “a sparkling, fast-paced joy of a book that celebrates love, family, and the right to shape one’s own destiny” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author).

The D'Artigo sisters are sexy, savvy ex-operatives from the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Being half human, half-Fae means their powers go haywire at all the wrong times. Camille is a wicked-good witch, with three gorgeous husbands. Her sister Delilah is a two-faced werecat and a Death Maiden whilst Menolly, a jian-tu turned vampire, is married to a sexy werepuma and the godfather of vampires. Unfortunately, life is about to get very, very nasty for them all.

In the first anthology of its kind, Lila Azam Zanganeh argues that although Iran looms large in the American imagination, it is grossly misunderstood-seen either as the third pillar of Bush's infamous "axis of evil" or as a nation teeming with youths clamoring for revolution. This collection showcases the real scope and complexity of Iran through the work of a stellar group of contributors-including Azar Nafisi and with original art by Marjane Satrapi. Their collective goal is to counter the many existing cultural and political clichés about Iran. Some of the pieces concern feminism, sexuality, or eroticism under the Islamic Republic; others are unorthodox political testimonies or about race and religion. Almost all these contributors have broken artistic and cultural taboos in their work. Journalist Reza Aslan, author of No God But God, explains why Iran is not a theocracy but, rather, a "mullahcracy." Mehrangiz Kar, a lawyer and human rights activist who was jailed in Iran and is currently a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, argues that the Iranian Revolution actually engendered the birth of feminism in Iran. Journalist Azadeh Moaveni reveals the underground parties and sex culture in Tehran, while Gelareh Asayesh, author of Saffron Sky, writes poignantly on why Iranians are not considered white in America, even though they think they are. Poet and writer Naghmeh Zarbafian expounds on the surreal experience of reading censored books in Iran, while Roya Hakakian, author of Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran, recalls the happy days of Iranian Jews. With a sharp, incisive introduction by Lila Azam Zanganeh, this diverse collection will alter what you thought you knew about Iran. "My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes aims to corrode fixed ideas and turns cultural and political clichés on their heads . . . Iranians themselves live in a complex and schizophrenic reality, at a surreal crossroads between political Islam and satellite television, massive national oil revenues, and searing social inequalities."--From the Introduction by Lila Azam Zanganeh Contributors include: Azar Nafisi, author of the best-selling Reading Lolita in Tehran, Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis, Shirin Neshat, internationally acclaimed visual artist, Abbas Kiarostami, award-winning filmmaker of Taste of Cherry, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar nominee for House of Sand and Fog, Azadeh Moaveni, author of Lipstick Jihad

Covered from head to toe with only her eyes visible, the sight of a Muslim woman on a western city street rarely fails to provoke a strong reaction. Feelings of shock, horror, repulsion, pity or even fear are not uncommon. But have you ever wondered who it is behind the veil and what makes her tick? Ever wondered what her life is really like and whether her dreams, hopes and aspirations differ from yours? Now, in FROM MY SISTERS' LIPS, Na'ima B Robert offers a rare glimpse into the lives of a community of women, most of whom are converts to Islam, and invites you to share their joys, sorrows, convictions and faith. years ago, it was not a decision taken lightly. Yet soon after she took the first tentative steps towards covering, she felt empowered; no longer judged on physical appearances alone, no longer seeking the approval to feel beautiful - or using her looks to wield power over men - the experience effected her greatly. Before long she grew in confidence and courage. As she says, 'Something just clicked. I thought, Good, don't look; don't compare me with your latest squeeze, don't try and guess my measurements - my body is my own business ' As Na'ima recounts the compelling story of her conversion to Islam, she also offers first-hand accounts of just some of the extraordinary Muslim women she has come to know in recent years - women like herself who have chosen to live behind the veil. What emerges is a vivid and intimate portrait of a sisterhood; as they speak candidly and with conviction on a diverse range of subjects ranging from marriage to motherhood, stereotypes, submission and self-image, we hear the strong, proud voices of those who are seldom heard. world usually seen only by those priviledged enough to be admitted to it's inner circle. It is also a celebration of womanhood - a celebration of those who have chosen to live behind the veil.

Veiling is a globally polarizing issue, a locus for the struggle between Islam and the West and between contemporary and traditional interpretations of Islam. This book examines the vastly misunderstood and multi-layered world of the veil. It explores and analyzes the cultures, politics, and histories of veiling.

Compelling memoir of an American woman and her family moving to Yemen, learning to live in the Islamic culture, and offering hope to Muslim women.

"From Library Journal : Traditionally, Iranian women have been veiled from public view and constrained from public expression. Milani illustrates that in Iran the 19th-century movement to unveil was closely linked to women's emergence as literary figures. This, the first work devoted to the rich literature of the female writers of Iran, is itself an example of great literature from an Iranian female writer. With poetic insight, Milani dis cusses the themes of disclosure and secrecy that have delineated the Iranian woman's universe and characterized her expression. Highly recommended for all literature, anthropology, and women's studies collections."--Amazon.ca.