Stuff
Product Details
Howard Books, March 2010
Hardcover, 336 pages
ISBN-10: 1439159106
ISBN-13: 9781439159101
This reading group guide for Saved by Her Enemy includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with authors Don Teague and Rafraf Barrak. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
This is the story of an unlikely friendship. When NBC News correspondent Don Teague arrives inBaghdad Iraq
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1.) The book presents the events of September 11th from two very different perspectives: that of Don Teague and Rafraf's mother, Jamila. How are their respective reactions different or similar? How would you compare your own reaction to the fall of the towers?
2.) What contradictory views do we get of Saddam Hussein's regime? How do these details confirm or contradict your previous impressions of the dictator?
3.) Discuss Rafraf's childhood fear of "Mr. John". Why do you think this figure was ingrained in Iraqi life? How was her fear and knowledge of "Mr. John" altered by the initial invasion of the Marine Corps and finally by her experience inAmerica
4.) How was Rafraf's life changed when she chose to wear the head scarf as a young woman? What did it mean for her to eventually put the scarf aside for her new life in theUnited States
5.) Rafraf shocks many of her colleagues, including Don, in her mastery of the game Text Twist. Why do you think this is so important to her?
6.) Despite the ongoing violence of the war inIraq
7.) Don writes that "residents of all countries, the most obvious example being Americans, tend to feel the world revolves around them. It is a natural part of the human condition" (159). Do you agree? Describe the possible impact on such attitudes as the internet brings about a greater feeling of globalization.
8.) Discuss how the bomb attack eventually influenced Don's decision to remove Rafraf fromBaghdad
9.) How does Rafraf's reaction to her arrival inAtlanta
10.) Consider Rafraf's foray into the American dating world in comparison to the marriage of her parents. Whereas, "Kamal and Jamila created a family, and a life together, based on respect for their parents" (13), Rafraf is ultimately given free reign over her romantic life. Were you surprised by her relatively quick transition? Why or why not?
11.) Discuss the moment in which Rafraf discovers that Kerry and Rachel Levin, two of her most supportive benefactors, are Jewish or of Jewish heritage. Why is Don frustrated by her horror? How do you think Rafraf is able to move past her prejudice?
12.) Rafraf and her sister, in a miraculous coincidence, rupture their appendices on the same day. How do their respective medical experiences delineate the differences between the two separate worlds they now inhabit?
13.) Were you surprised by the close friendship that developed between Rafraf and her freshman college roommate, a Marine Corps veteran? Why or why not?
14.) How does Don's incredibly strong faith figure into the narrative? What similarities do you see between Don's Christianity and Rafraf's Islam? How do you think those similarities influenced Rafraf's decision to convert to Christianity and her claim that "life is too short to live apart from God"?
Enhance your Book Club
1.) Learn about Rafraf's alma mater, theUniversity of Baghdad
2.) Visit Don Teague's website, www.don-teague.com, to read his blog and learn about upcoming events.
3.) Follow Don and Rafraf on Twitter! Both have accounts and will keep you updated on their recent activity.
A Conversation with Don Teague and Rafraf Barrak
1.) What finally motivated the two of you to sit down and put your story on paper?
Don: I was actually reluctant to write this book. Throughout this journey with Rafraf, friends or others who knew of the story would say "you should write a book or do a documentary." I didn't pursue either because I didn't want Rafraf to feel that she was invited into our family for some journalistic or financial venture. I later realized people might truly learn something from our experiences, so I discussed the idea with Rafraf and ultimately made the decision to tell the story.
Rafraf: When I first came to the States, people were always asking me if I was keeping a journal and I wasn't actually so when Don told me about the idea of the book, I thought it was great to replace a journal that I never wrote. And the fact that meeting different people through the 5 years I spent here got me to a point where I wanted to convey more about the world I come from to the people living here in the States. I was asked so many questions over and over and over and this book I hope will answer some of them in one way or another.
2.) What was your writing process? Which scenes were the most difficult to relay?
Don: The writing process was fairly simple, though occasionally painful. I would sit with Rafraf for hours on end, asking her detailed questions about her family, her life, her views on certain topics. I would then lock myself away and write…having Rafraf review chapters for accuracy as I completed them.
A typical conversation:
"You can't say that about me," Rafraf would say.
"But it's true," I reply. "You just told me that story yesterday."
"But I didn't mean for you to put it in the book," she would plead, "People won't understand. They'll hate me."
"Nobody's going to hate you, Rafraf."
Sometimes she won the argument…er, negotiation…sometimes I won.
For me, the most difficult scenes in the book are the ones that reveal my feelings about religion or other private matters. In my capacity as a journalist, I work hard to keep my views out of any reporting. In the context of this book, however, I'm a character. It would be unfair to the readers to present myself as a blank slate.
Rafraf: Sometimes Don would ask questions I don't really want to answer or questions where the answer can lose its meaning if translated to English, so it was kind of difficult to just bridge the conversation clearly, but at the end when I read the chapters Don wrote, it made sense and the way he put it all together was fair, realistic and true to what really happened.
3.) What was it like to hear each other's varying perspectives of these events? What was the most surprising thing that you learned?
Don: I was fascinated to hear what "shock and awe" was like from Rafraf's perspective. I can't imagine what it would be like to have all of those bombs falling around me.
Rafraf: A lot of things are still shocking and surprising to me even to this day. For example, people always asked me one question repeatedly, "What was it like, the war?" And that just made me think people wanted to learn from a direct source rather than listening to the news, whereas, when I was home all we did is listen to the news.
4.) How do you think your obvious abilities as communicators (Don is a news correspondent, Rafraf is a translator) helped you in writing this book?
Don: I'm a story teller. Television news is about telling stories in two minutes or less. It was both challenging and liberating to be able to tell a story over several hundred pages.
Rafraf: I was eager to learn more words, when I read the chapters as Don was writing because I always had the simplest style of writing trying always to avoid difficult or complicated words. Not to say his writing is complicated, but he uses big words that I learned to understand through always asking him about what these words mean.
5.) Do either of you envision a future in which you will return toIraq
Don: Kiki says I'm not going back toIraq
Rafraf: One day. I miss my family and my friends there.I always have hope that one day whether it's back in Iraq or in some other place I will get to see them again.
6.) Why did you choose to end the book with Rafraf's conversion?
Don: Rafraf's decision to follow Christ happened during the writing of the book. It came as a surprise to me, and it obviously posed a question for the book. Our initial decision was not to include her conversion. The book was originally intended, among other things, to show how people of different faiths can co-exist…even within the same household. What's more, as a "new Christian," Rafraf may not have had the tools necessary to defend her decision against the inevitable attacks. Kiki, in particular, strongly believed it was best to let Rafraf mature in her faith before opening herself to such criticism, and even possible danger. We continued writing, planning to leave Rafraf's decision out.
As the weeks passed, Rafraf began to feel strongly that her decision should be made public. She felt God working in her heart, and wanted others to know what that relationship was like.
We all prayed about the decision. We discussed and debated it with my agent, and my editor…both Christians. Both said while Rafraf's testimony would be powerful, it was her decision to make. The success of the book would not rest on what she decided.
We all reminded Rafraf that there could be actual danger involved with revealing her decision. She remained resolved to include her conversion.
It would be dishonest to say we haven't all had second thoughts about the decision to reveal Rafraf's decision to accept and follow Christ. I have changed my mind on the subject a hundred times.
Ultimately, though, the truth should always win. We're telling the truth, and leaving up to God to sort out the rest.
7.) Do either of you have any new projects planned?
Don: I always have projects planned. A new book? Yes. I've also written five screenplays, and am always in the process of telling the next story. I hope to leave myself out of the next one.
Introduction
This is the story of an unlikely friendship. When NBC News correspondent Don Teague arrives in
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1.) The book presents the events of September 11th from two very different perspectives: that of Don Teague and Rafraf's mother, Jamila. How are their respective reactions different or similar? How would you compare your own reaction to the fall of the towers?
2.) What contradictory views do we get of Saddam Hussein's regime? How do these details confirm or contradict your previous impressions of the dictator?
3.) Discuss Rafraf's childhood fear of "Mr. John". Why do you think this figure was ingrained in Iraqi life? How was her fear and knowledge of "Mr. John" altered by the initial invasion of the Marine Corps and finally by her experience in
4.) How was Rafraf's life changed when she chose to wear the head scarf as a young woman? What did it mean for her to eventually put the scarf aside for her new life in the
5.) Rafraf shocks many of her colleagues, including Don, in her mastery of the game Text Twist. Why do you think this is so important to her?
6.) Despite the ongoing violence of the war in
7.) Don writes that "residents of all countries, the most obvious example being Americans, tend to feel the world revolves around them. It is a natural part of the human condition" (159). Do you agree? Describe the possible impact on such attitudes as the internet brings about a greater feeling of globalization.
8.) Discuss how the bomb attack eventually influenced Don's decision to remove Rafraf from
9.) How does Rafraf's reaction to her arrival in
10.) Consider Rafraf's foray into the American dating world in comparison to the marriage of her parents. Whereas, "Kamal and Jamila created a family, and a life together, based on respect for their parents" (13), Rafraf is ultimately given free reign over her romantic life. Were you surprised by her relatively quick transition? Why or why not?
11.) Discuss the moment in which Rafraf discovers that Kerry and Rachel Levin, two of her most supportive benefactors, are Jewish or of Jewish heritage. Why is Don frustrated by her horror? How do you think Rafraf is able to move past her prejudice?
12.) Rafraf and her sister, in a miraculous coincidence, rupture their appendices on the same day. How do their respective medical experiences delineate the differences between the two separate worlds they now inhabit?
13.) Were you surprised by the close friendship that developed between Rafraf and her freshman college roommate, a Marine Corps veteran? Why or why not?
14.) How does Don's incredibly strong faith figure into the narrative? What similarities do you see between Don's Christianity and Rafraf's Islam? How do you think those similarities influenced Rafraf's decision to convert to Christianity and her claim that "life is too short to live apart from God"?
Enhance your Book Club
1.) Learn about Rafraf's alma mater, the
2.) Visit Don Teague's website, www.don-teague.com, to read his blog and learn about upcoming events.
3.) Follow Don and Rafraf on Twitter! Both have accounts and will keep you updated on their recent activity.
A Conversation with Don Teague and Rafraf Barrak
1.) What finally motivated the two of you to sit down and put your story on paper?
Don: I was actually reluctant to write this book. Throughout this journey with Rafraf, friends or others who knew of the story would say "you should write a book or do a documentary." I didn't pursue either because I didn't want Rafraf to feel that she was invited into our family for some journalistic or financial venture. I later realized people might truly learn something from our experiences, so I discussed the idea with Rafraf and ultimately made the decision to tell the story.
Rafraf: When I first came to the States, people were always asking me if I was keeping a journal and I wasn't actually so when Don told me about the idea of the book, I thought it was great to replace a journal that I never wrote. And the fact that meeting different people through the 5 years I spent here got me to a point where I wanted to convey more about the world I come from to the people living here in the States. I was asked so many questions over and over and over and this book I hope will answer some of them in one way or another.
2.) What was your writing process? Which scenes were the most difficult to relay?
Don: The writing process was fairly simple, though occasionally painful. I would sit with Rafraf for hours on end, asking her detailed questions about her family, her life, her views on certain topics. I would then lock myself away and write…having Rafraf review chapters for accuracy as I completed them.
A typical conversation:
"You can't say that about me," Rafraf would say.
"But it's true," I reply. "You just told me that story yesterday."
"But I didn't mean for you to put it in the book," she would plead, "People won't understand. They'll hate me."
"Nobody's going to hate you, Rafraf."
Sometimes she won the argument…er, negotiation…sometimes I won.
For me, the most difficult scenes in the book are the ones that reveal my feelings about religion or other private matters. In my capacity as a journalist, I work hard to keep my views out of any reporting. In the context of this book, however, I'm a character. It would be unfair to the readers to present myself as a blank slate.
Rafraf: Sometimes Don would ask questions I don't really want to answer or questions where the answer can lose its meaning if translated to English, so it was kind of difficult to just bridge the conversation clearly, but at the end when I read the chapters Don wrote, it made sense and the way he put it all together was fair, realistic and true to what really happened.
3.) What was it like to hear each other's varying perspectives of these events? What was the most surprising thing that you learned?
Don: I was fascinated to hear what "shock and awe" was like from Rafraf's perspective. I can't imagine what it would be like to have all of those bombs falling around me.
Rafraf: A lot of things are still shocking and surprising to me even to this day. For example, people always asked me one question repeatedly, "What was it like, the war?" And that just made me think people wanted to learn from a direct source rather than listening to the news, whereas, when I was home all we did is listen to the news.
4.) How do you think your obvious abilities as communicators (Don is a news correspondent, Rafraf is a translator) helped you in writing this book?
Don: I'm a story teller. Television news is about telling stories in two minutes or less. It was both challenging and liberating to be able to tell a story over several hundred pages.
Rafraf: I was eager to learn more words, when I read the chapters as Don was writing because I always had the simplest style of writing trying always to avoid difficult or complicated words. Not to say his writing is complicated, but he uses big words that I learned to understand through always asking him about what these words mean.
5.) Do either of you envision a future in which you will return to
Don: Kiki says I'm not going back to
Rafraf: One day. I miss my family and my friends there.I always have hope that one day whether it's back in Iraq or in some other place I will get to see them again.
6.) Why did you choose to end the book with Rafraf's conversion?
Don: Rafraf's decision to follow Christ happened during the writing of the book. It came as a surprise to me, and it obviously posed a question for the book. Our initial decision was not to include her conversion. The book was originally intended, among other things, to show how people of different faiths can co-exist…even within the same household. What's more, as a "new Christian," Rafraf may not have had the tools necessary to defend her decision against the inevitable attacks. Kiki, in particular, strongly believed it was best to let Rafraf mature in her faith before opening herself to such criticism, and even possible danger. We continued writing, planning to leave Rafraf's decision out.
As the weeks passed, Rafraf began to feel strongly that her decision should be made public. She felt God working in her heart, and wanted others to know what that relationship was like.
We all prayed about the decision. We discussed and debated it with my agent, and my editor…both Christians. Both said while Rafraf's testimony would be powerful, it was her decision to make. The success of the book would not rest on what she decided.
We all reminded Rafraf that there could be actual danger involved with revealing her decision. She remained resolved to include her conversion.
It would be dishonest to say we haven't all had second thoughts about the decision to reveal Rafraf's decision to accept and follow Christ. I have changed my mind on the subject a hundred times.
Ultimately, though, the truth should always win. We're telling the truth, and leaving up to God to sort out the rest.
7.) Do either of you have any new projects planned?
Don: I always have projects planned. A new book? Yes. I've also written five screenplays, and am always in the process of telling the next story. I hope to leave myself out of the next one.
