Patricia Holton,Andrea Jones, Mother Without a Mask: A Westerner's Story of Her Arab Family Review

Overall Rating

This is the story of the experiences of Patricia Holton, an American women, after she and her family befriended a couple of young Arab men from the Al-Ain/Buraimi Oasis (which lies along the border between the United Arab Emirates and Oman). Over more than a decade her life intertwines with the lives of these young men and their family, both in the UAE and in the UK. She gives us a rare glimpse of how rapidly life changed in UAE from the 1970s to the present, which in many ways is comparable to the change that also occurred here in neighboring Oman. I enjoyed this book, especially because of Patricia's accurate description of life within the home and cultural aspects of women's daily routines and gatherings. Patricia's open-mindedness to the women's ways allowed her to become "part" of the family that she often visited. I highly recommend this book to Western women who would like to visit Oman or UAE.