The Heroine Next Door

*An inspiring tale of the hope and despair of being a Muslim in post-9/11 America. this is a story of one woman’s journey in apartheid South Africa and the United States of America.*

Leila Hassan, a scientist, returns to a place that haunts her dreams – the 9/11 memorial. Once upon a time she was a starry-eyed young woman, who transcended her impoverished roots to pursue a dream of obtaining an education in the U.S.A. and applying that knowledge in her homeland, South Africa.

In a series of Facebook posts and stories, we see the lives of Leila and her friends unfolding, first as youths during the turbulent years of apartheid in South Africa and then as expatriates seeking a better life abroad, while trying to maintain links with their former homeland in the face of cross-cultural misunderstandings.

Leila’s dream to marry her fiancée, Khalid, ends cruelly with his death on 9/11. Lonely and unable to cope with suppressed grief, she returns to her homeland, and finds new meaning in helping her former countrymen cope with the scourge of HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Fans of *American Voices*, *Lethal Copycats*, *Butterflies* and other inspiring books about a search for our better selves will enjoy this stirring work.

Haunting. As in science itself you come to learn a lot through study but at the same time and, of greater value, you learn how limited is your insight into the often profound state of nature, in this case the experience of others, even those around you with whom you might work over many years and think together as deeply as you are able on matters of shared interest.

I quote below from a great scientist on his study of nature and suggest the applicability of his appreciation of the unknown in nature to appreciating the depth and unknown aspects of human experience in those we encounter: "I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered all before me." -Isaac Newton  

David Thaler

Zeena Nackerdien is an accomplished biochemist, researcher, and patient advocate who has devoted her life to helping her home country of South Africa in its war against HIV/Aids as well as TB and other diseases plaguing the country. I applaud those efforts and Ms. Nackerdien.

When I was approached to do a book review of her novel, The Heroine Next Door, I was excited. I thought I would be delving into the rich experiences of this multicultural woman. Born and mostly educated in South Africa during the last years of Apartheid. She comes to the United States with a lofty goal of furthering her knowledge in an effort to help her people. In the pages of her book, I see glimpses of that story and there is a glimmer of the beauty I think that story would hold. However, what I received reads more like a dissertation more suitable for a scientific journal.

The story of Leila Hassan pulled me in at first. There is plenty of detail about her life. Instead of the characters living their lives, it reads like something counting off plot points in rapid fire succession. It reminded me of slides from college science courses meant to throw the bare facts at students for the purpose of examinations. I wanted to share in the experiences of this woman as she came to America and adjusted to Western culture versus her Muslim upbringing and religious roots. I was sadly disappointed with more facts and figures on research into treatments for HIV/AIDS and TB.

I won't bore you gentle readers with anything more except to say that I saw a potential in the words that Zeena Nackerdien gave us. There is a story, or maybe many stories, to be told by the characters she glosses over. I would certainly read those stories when they appear.

Andrew M. Ferrell