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Defiance
A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria
Brief Description
Loubna Mrie was raised a staunch Syrian Alawite, the same sect as then-President Hafez al-Assad. Her mother's father helped plan the coup that saw Hafez seize power in 1970 and bring the Alawites out of hiding and into a position of total control. Her father was...
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Format: Paperback / softback
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See moreA searing memoir from Syrian activist and journalist Loubna Mrie about her country's political struggles and her family's betrayal
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Description
Loubna Mrie was raised a staunch Syrian Alawite, the same sect as then-President Hafez al-Assad. Her mother's father helped plan the coup that saw Hafez seize power in 1970 and bring the Alawites out of hiding and into a position of total control. Her father was intimately involved in Hafez's government as an enforcer and assassin.
When the Arab Spring reached Syria in 2011, she attended a protest against his son Bashar's government out of curiosity, and her life changed forever. When she returned to her grandparents' home in Damascus, her family called her a traitor. Unable to look back, she plunged ahead into a life of activism — in opposition to both the regime and her abusive father — with unimaginable consequences. Loubna's father was exiled, her mother murdered, and her boyfriend, Peter Kassig, an American, was executed by ISIS.
This memoir will tell her story in her own words.
Defiance by Loubna Mrie offers a gripping and personal account of a tumultuous period in Syrian history, revealing the complex interplay of familial ties, political struggle, and personal sacrifice.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780349013350
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 24 February 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 22.0mm
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 41g
Pages: 432
Collections
About the Author
Loubna Mrie is a Syrian photographer, journalist, and writer. She covered the Syrian war as a photojournalist for Reuters from 2012 to 2014. She is a frequent commentator and researcher on Syrian and Middle Eastern affairs. She has been published in Time, the Washington Post, the New Republic, the Nation, Vice, and Al Jazeera, among other outlets.
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