From his childhood in Egypt to his immigration to the United
States, Dr. Sabri g. Bebawi has assembled scores of incidents, “scenes” instead
of “chapters” as he calls them, which weave a tapestry of his life with candor,
honesty and intelligence in his book, A
Dream Is Just That: An Interminable
Journey from Egypt to America.
A foreign upbringing by American standards, Dr. Bebawi began
his book by telling tales of his childhood in an Egyptian oasis called Fayoum. As virtually any childhood
parallels in human emotion those of children around the world, his intellectual
curiosity and passion for truth filled his world around the Egyptian dust and
dirt, religious laws and culture, giving him a rather unique upbringing. Being from a family of wealth, he was afforded
comforts and education; however all was not at peace within his youth. Instances of naivety while being sexually
abused, and witnessing indescribably bizarre events, etched a permanent chasm
of ideological awareness of life in his developing mind. From the frailty of being a victim of various
childhood diseases, he relied on his one physical characteristic of strength,
his mind, for survival. This prowess has
manifested itself in his literary achievements in journalism, authorship, and achieving
his PhD in English as a part of his higher education.
One episode I most certainly found fascinating was his
account of being hypnotized. When asked
permission by his psychologist, he thought it would not be possible due to his
strong and active mind. After a few
seconds of a relaxing thought, he looked down at his watch and noticed an hour
had passed in which he had absolutely no recollection of what occurred. He called this “The death of an hour in my
own life.”
After his autobiographical account of his upbringing and
family, the book shifts to America, the “Land of Freedom,” so he thought. What are described are incidents of hardship,
legal abuse, financial slavery and class struggles in society; which Dr. Bebawi
cleverly juxtaposes against his Egyptian culture. He concludes there are more similarities than
differences, and human nature is eerily constant within the various
geographical and political environmental regions of the world. I must admit I found a tidbit of arrogance in
his written voice, as he describes legal battles and confrontational issues with
established American corporate behemoths over policies of customer apathy. Dr. Bebawi found a call to action as he
became the self-appointed spokesperson for the less articulate and educated
masses; as he single-handedly attempted to change American society. His battle was brought all the way to The White House where he received a
customary reply thanking him for his concern; but leaving the situation
unchanged. Hence A Dream is Just That…..a dream.
This book is surprisingly compelling and difficult to put
down. It reads rather swiftly due to the
layout of short “scenes” intermixed with very interesting photographs and
exhibits. The single most quality which
resonates throughout his writing is truth. This, I imagine, comes from his years of journalistic work, but is
obviously rooted in his morality and his own core values. With all of the turmoil going on in the
world, especially from his homeland of Egypt, I found this to be
extraordinarily timely and pertinent. Americans need to see ourselves not from within our culture, but from
foreign observations, to realize some of the truths and rights we hold to be
self-evident are a part of the American Dream, and A Dream Is Just That.
Buy This book at Amazon.com
