My life as I lived it: Memories of a Saudi woman from Unayzah to California

This interesting book gathers the lively and unconventional memories of the life of Dr. Thuraya bint Mohammed Al-Sulaiman Al-Brahim Al-Turki, the first Saudi woman specializing in anthropology, and one of the first Saudi women to obtain a doctorate. The author says: "I have not encountered in my life anything related to me that has received the consensus of my friends and colleagues similar to the insistence on me to document my life experience, which they saw — thank God — as worth telling, hoping it may inspire new generations of women in the Arabian Peninsula. I, along with my peers, fought battle after battle for rights that are now obvious, against a societal culture based on specific interpretations of religious texts, which stood as an impenetrable barrier to women's education, work, and engagement in public life in our society. I presented what happened in my life as it happened, and in areas I claim others would think ten times before entering. I strived to keep the level of honesty at its highest in this book. I presented myself as I am, without embellishment or 'touch-ups,' and perhaps the secret behind that relative honesty is that I am a scholar. I am always haunted by the idea of objectivity, even against myself, as much as I can. Although the experience is personal, it intertwines with social change in the Kingdom through my person, my family, and perhaps my entire generation." Author: Thuraya Al-Turki Number of pages: 248