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Laila Ibrahim

Goodreads author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/LailaDIbrahim

born

in Whittier, California, The United States

gender

female

website

http://www.lailaibrahim.com

genre

Historical Fiction, Women & Gender Studies, Literature & Fiction

member since

January 2011

About this author

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My experiences in multiracial, developmental psychology provided ample fodder for the story of Mattie and Lisbeth. I was the founder and director of Woolsey Children's School where I had first hand experience loving children that were not my own. There are scenes in the book that were largely influenced interactions I had with children from Woolsey. As a birth doula I have the privilege to witness the intensity and joy of childbirth. You can see that my birth experiences are reflected in the novel as well. I recently started working as the Director of Children and Family Ministries at the First Unitarian Church in Oakland. I live in a small co-housing community in Berkeley, California, with my wonderful wife, Rinda, our amazing children, Ka...more My experiences in multiracial, developmental psychology provided ample fodder for the story of Mattie and Lisbeth. I was the founder and director of Woolsey Children's School where I had first hand experience loving children that were not my own. There are scenes in the book that were largely influenced interactions I had with children from Woolsey. As a birth doula I have the privilege to witness the intensity and joy of childbirth. You can see that my birth experiences are reflected in the novel as well. I recently started working as the Director of Children and Family Ministries at the First Unitarian Church in Oakland. I live in a small co-housing community in Berkeley, California, with my wonderful wife, Rinda, our amazing children, Kalin and Maya, and our crazy dogs, Bella and Lucie. Yellow Crocus is my first novel.

I was surprised when the writing bug bit me. The idea for the story came to me in 1998, I was with a group of people talking about Tiger Woods. Someone mentioned that he identifies as much as an Asian person as an African-American person. I thought to myself, "Of course he does, his mother is Asian. You form your core identity in relationship to your primary caregivers. It's a basic part of the attachment process."

Then the image of Lisbeth, a white baby, breastfeeding in the loving arms of Mattie, an enslaved wetnurse came to me in a flash. I thought about what it would be like for Lisbeth to dearly love Mattie and then be taught by society that she wasn't a full person. I wondered how it would feel for Mattie to be forced to abandon Samuel, her own child, in the slave Quarters. Then I imagined what the experience would be like for Miss Anne, the birth mother, to have her own child twist away from her to get into Mattie's arms. These characters started to haunt me. Various scenes popped into my head. Though I had never written anything, I was being called to tell this story. For my fortieth birthday, I began the personal marathon of writing my first novel. I hope you will come to love these characters as much as I have.

Some new characters are starting to haunt me. So I dare say there will be more books in my future.
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Laila Ibrahim's Books

Average rating: 4.16 · 1,938 ratings · 401 reviews · 1 distinct work · Similar authors

Yellow Crocus
4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 1,938 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions

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Laila Ibrahim is now friends with Nora
May 18, 2013 01:42pm · like
Laila Ibrahim made a comment in the group Book Giveaways — Win a copy of this captivating story topic "Readers of The Help will be drawn to this story of love, loss and redemption in the antebellum south. Yellow Crocus is best seller on Kindle. This con...more "
Feb 22, 2013 02:24pm
Laila Ibrahim joined the group Book Giveaways
Feb 22, 2013 02:19pm · like
Laila Ibrahim made a comment on Samantha's review of Yellow Crocus "Wow. Samantha thank you for that lovely review. It means so much to me. I worked so hard and long to get Mattie and Lisbeth's story into the world. So...more "
Jan 12, 2013 06:21pm · see review
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May 17, 2012 09:19am
Laila Ibrahim rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Laila Ibrahim rated a book 5 of 5 stars Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 12, 2012 09:24am
Laila Ibrahim made a comment on Darlene's review of Yellow Crocus "Hi Darlene, I was reading through reviews to see what people think of Yellow Crocus. I am glad you enjoyed it. And delighted that your book group will...more "
Feb 21, 2012 07:54pm · see review
Laila Ibrahim voted for 2 books on the list Best Books Ever Vote on this list »
Jan 30, 2012 09:47pm · 1 like · like
Laila Ibrahim rated a book 5 of 5 stars Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 12, 2011 05:35pm

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Quotes by Laila Ibrahim

“Focus on bearing, and beauty will follow. Your looks will not remain with you for life. But your bearing will go with you to the grave.”
― Laila Ibrahim, Yellow Crocus

1 person liked it

Polls

What would you like as our November group read? The theme is historical fiction.

- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

11 votes 21.2%

- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

10 votes 19.2%

- The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

9 votes 17.3%

- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

8 votes 15.4%

- Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

6 votes 11.5%

- The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor

4 votes 7.7%

- The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice

2 votes 3.8%

- Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

2 votes 3.8%

52 total votes

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Laila Ibrahim

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