As I Lay By The Tigris And Weep

Jenna's Book Club
 

Brief, but packs a powerful, haunting, punch. Tamara Albanna's "As I Lay By The Tigris and Weep" by Girl God Publications, is a small compilation of her musings and prose, which draws you in and never lets you go.
Albanna is a native of Iraq and was forced to immigrate from her "beloved Motherland" as a teen. Through her writings, you can feel her pain, her sorrow, yet her triumphs and joys. The prospects of arranged marriages, her "standing out" in her adopted country, the rise of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, and the oppression of women and girls...but her refusal to give up, and her encouragement to all the women and girls in her beloved Mesopotamia...the Cradle of Civilization, the Land of Inanna. This is something that everyone, regardless or background, location, and gender, should read. One thing that it will particularly do is make you appreciate how lucky we are in countries like the United States, Ireland, etc.-particularly if you're female.
In a country that's been ravaged by radical Islam, I applaud Albanna for her unwavering devotion to Inanna-the Sumerian Mother Goddess. I don't really know about her, but I would suppose that she would tie in with my Danu. What I do know about Inanna is fascinating though! Look Her up! I actually found Albanna's work in a compilation entitled "Inanna's Ascent" which was free on Kindle for International Women's Day-so I took advantage of it. Albanna, being a native of Iraq who honored Inanna, the Great Mother Goddess of Mesopotamia, is the contributor that interested me the most.
Inanna is her beacon of hope, and the "call to arms" to the brave women and girls of Iraq...the Cradle of Civilization, Land of Inanna. A world away, living in a country where I can walk outside in shorts, marry whomever I want (or not get married at all!), be in public on my own unaccompanied by a male relative, drive a car, etc. with the blood of the bold Celtic and Saxon women flowing through me, the women who charged into battle alongside the men, totally different from Iraq...I add my voice to hers, and I hope everyone else does, regardless of their location, background, or gender! I will say it myself to the brave women and girls of Iraq-you are the daughters of Inanna! Rise up, and never give up-it's up to YOU to take back your wonderful homeland!
Being in my state defense force, I've been around quite a few servicemen and women who were deployed to Iraq and absolutely fell in love with the country. The "Cradle of Civilization" and the "Land of Inanna..." it's going to take more than ISIS and Al-Qaeda to bring those people down!