Peacekeeper's Daughter: A Middle East Memoir

by Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt

Peacekeeper's Daughter parachutes the reader into the Lebanese Civil War, the Palestinian Crisis and the wave of terrorism--including the bombing of the American Embassy--that ravaged Beirut at the height of the siege.

A touching and powerful coming of age story about belonging, war and family.

355 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2021

Reviews

[Zoé Bellehumeur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je suis biaisée parce que c’est ma tante qui l’a écrit et qu’il parle de ma famille, mais ce livre m’a tellement fait vivre d’émotions fortes, c’est comme si on était avec les personnages dans leur appartement en Israël et au Liban. Je recommande x 10000. Captivant, tellement bien écrit, et offre un regard unique sur la guerre au Liban.

[Michelle Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I worked on the essays in this book with the author and read them many times over, so this material was very familiar to me. That said, I had never read it from cover to cover as a book, and despite its familiarity, I still found I couldn't put it down. The author's eye for detail and her ability to convey both powerful emotion and the complexities of family relationships make this book rich and compelling. The Middle Eastern setting is so well described, I felt like I was there with her.

Highly recommended.

[Hejsa Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really gripping memoir told from the perspective of the young daughter of a peacekeeper in the Middle East. Experiencing the war-time conflict from the daughter's POV, rather than from the perspective of the military father, is a refreshing change as such perspectives seems to be under represented in literature. The story is both fast-paced and beautifully told. You won't be disappointed!

[Toby Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This coming-of-age memoir is impossible to put down once it sucks you in. Told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old Canadian Army brat who is dropped into the Lebanese Civil War in 1982-1983, we are immersed into the heart of the Palestinian crisis. Alongside Bellehumeur-Allatt, we travel from Yellowknife to Jerusalem to Tiberias, Israel, eventually landing in Beirut, Lebanon. The book wraps up by going full circle with a return to Canada. Bellehumeur-Allatt does a phenomenal job of making the musings of her preteen self interesting.

Bellehumeur-Allatt was able to vividly recount the details of her life back in the 1980s thanks to a gift. Just before leaving Canada to head to the Middle East, the mother of her best friend gave her a blank journal wrapped in shiny paper. The mom told Bellehumeur-Allatt: “Write everything down, all the details. One day it’ll be a book.” In response, Bellehumeur-Allatt promised her she would. The mom likely had no idea that her serendipitous gift would lead to a potentially award-winning book forty years later.

The details in this book make the reader feel like they are in the Middle East with Bellehumeur-Allatt; we truly get a sense of what her life was like four decades ago. For example, the maple leafs sewn into shirts and backpacks. The friend of her mother that sported dyed black hair with a thick fringe across her forehead who moved her body in a way that made the author think of soap opera stars. The blistering lesions from the ringworm they contracted from their kitten. The bulgy, purple, and pulsing vein on a man as they crossed into Syria. Even the descriptions of the Arab call to prayer are powerful. In some places the writing is almost lyrical - it is a beautiful thing!

On a side note, this book was a reminder of the power of what we say to others. The author had a seventh grade teacher who told her: “One day I'll see your name in print. I’ll come across your books in a bookseller’s.” Those words undoubtedly stuck with Bellehumeur-Allatt over the decades. After all, I am now holding one of her books in my hand.

This book takes me back to when I was a preteen living in Iran (we were there as my Saskatchewanian father was in oil.) War broke out and we fled the country with almost nothing. It was a terrifying time as we watched soldiers take over the streets. Fear and death hung in the air. I love how this book helped bring back many of my buried memories.

If you are looking for a smart, entertaining, historic memoir, pick up a copy of Peacekeeper’s Daughter. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM

[Ben J. Maure · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the conflict in Ukraine spiralling out of control and its civilian population being the ultimate victim, it is crucial to be a witness. In Peacekeeper's Daughter-A Middle East Memoir, author Tanya Bellehumeur-Allat is the witness. In her world as the 12-year-old daughter of a high-ranking Canadian military Peacekeeper, whose entire family followed him to Beirut in 1982, Tanya's recollection of her 7-month stay in a war zone is guaranteed to give you shivers!

From the moment the family landed in Israel and got robbed at a "daggers" point to the family's excruciating driving journey from Israel to Beirut, her story won't stop to amaze you. From a nearby explosion that rocked the family's Beirut quarter, the bombing of the US Embassy, to the time Tanya's father's mission was over, the reader will be amazed at what this young girl and family went through in the name of Peace...

[Sarah G-Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful and evocative memoir that takes its reader to a time and place in history I knew very little about. I was transported to the Middle East during the Lebanese Civil War and Palestinian Crisis of 1982 via the eyes of a 12 year-old Canadian girl. Bellehumeur-Allatt reflects back on a time of such violence using beautiful imagery and gentle innocence of a child - it left me always wanting to know and read more. I was a baby myself during this time period and really know nothing about it. This book is extremely enlightening on events in a place still in turmoil today. But not in a boring-political-hisotrical-way . . . . it's not about dates or facts or names. It's about the feelings and the senses and coming of age in a violent place. Highly recommend!

[Trisha Pope]

I really enjoyed the beautiful writing in this touching memoir by Tanya Bellehumeur-Allat. It is told through the eyes of a 12 year old, living in the midst of a war zone in Beirut in 1982. It is gentle yet moves like a slow tremor that grips the reader into the heart-wrenching fear and confusion in this historical mass genocide. A compelling and true story told by a gifted writer, who felt a calling to be a writer at a very young age. A true gift to read this book! Trisha Pope

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a compelling and fascinating book written from the perspective of a young Canadian girl whose parents choose to live and work overseas. The author shows us the challenges in adjusting to completely different cultures, especially in a modern war zone.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important testimony of a twelve-year-old girl’s witness to war in the Middle East from a new perspective—that of the daughter of a UN peacekeeper. Her experiences are not those of a refugee, but her exposure to death paints an awful picture of war.

If I were a secondary school English teacher, I would definitely put this on my students' reading list, as, along with war, it incorporates the themes of physical and emotional maturing; dislike of one's body; intense loneliness of being an expat in a family which doesn’t fit into any normal expat community—they're neither missionaries, nor diplomats, nor businesspeople. Even their sending nation denies their existence; PTSD; the tension between exposing one's family to new things and exposing them to harm; parental imperfections; self-harm; being ignored by those around one.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written from a younger perspective this shows the immediacy and impacts of conflict without the politics behind it. It isn’t the why of the war but rather the experience of it. Very readable and engaging with glimpses of the deeper tragedies.

[Yara El-Soueidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am writing a review about this book, but it was a hard read for someone from Lebanese descent. There’s a depiction that doesn’t fit the one I’ve heard from my family. The author was 13 years old, so I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and I understand how memories are shaped when you are a teenager, but resilience there is none in this book.

But as my Lebanese mom says, “Tout le monde a le droit à sa propre expérience de la guerre.”

Longer review to come. Thank God for my parents stories. Reading this really made me mad.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. As a 12-year-old Canadian girl, Tanya moved to the Middle East with her family in the midst of the 80s unrest. The book details her experiences with gunfire at night, blackouts in the evening, traveling to school in war torn cities, and navigating new cultures. The details sound terrifying, and horrible to live through. But, somehow it fell a little flat. I get that writing a book 40 years later would lose some details so perhaps that’s why. Or perhaps it was the disconnect between her brother’s trauma and not exploring that. I’m not sure.

[Emma Timms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! I felt like I was right there with Tanya...what an experience

[Lisa's Book Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and heartfelt. Highly recommend.