“Katrina in Five Worlds” by Kathy Saade Kenny

Finalist in the Best Books of 2010 in two categories: Multicultural Non-Fiction and Biography - Historical

Katrina in Five Worlds is the inspiring true story of Katrina Sa’ade, a Palestinian Christian woman of the early 20th century. Written and researched by Katrina’s granddaughter, this dramatic emigrant woman’s tale explores the historical upheaval that thrust young Katrina from a comfortable life in Ottoman-ruled Bethlehem into the turmoil of pre-revolutionary Russia, an arranged marriage during the Mexican Revolution, a traumatic return to Palestine in the 1930’s, and fulfilling years as a mother and businesswoman in California. In these far-flung places, she overcame loss, crossed cultural divides, and made courageous choices that changed her life and that of her family forever.

Katrina’s story will interest students of Middle Eastern and Latin American studies, migration, gender studies, history, anthropology and sociology, as well as the descendents of Palestinian and Arab immigrants whose own family stories deserve to be collected before they disappear