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    The Woman Who Fell from the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen
    The Woman Who Fell from the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen
    The Woman Who Fell from the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Woman Who Fell from the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen

    Written by Jennifer Steil

    Narrated by Jennifer Steil

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Restless in her career and her life in general, Jennifer Steil, a gregarious, liberal New Yorker, initially accepts a short-term opportunity to teach a journalism class to the staff of the Yemen Observer in Sana'a, the beautiful, old, and very conservative capital of Yemen.

    Seduced by the eager reporters and the enticing prospect of spreading democratic journalistic ideals there, she extends her stay to a year as the paper's editor in chief. But she is quickly confronted with the conservative realities of Yemen-and their surprising advantages. She discovers unexpected benefits in the concealment behind the modified burqa she wears. In teaching the basics of fair and balanced journalism to a staff that included plagiarists and polemicists, she falls in love with her career again. In confronting the blatant mistreatment and strict governance of women by their male counterparts, she learns to appreciate the strength of Arab women in the workplace. And in forging surprisingly deep friendships with women and men whose traditions and beliefs are in total opposition to her own, she learns a cultural appreciation she never could have predicted.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 17, 2010
    ISBN9781400187232
    The Woman Who Fell from the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen

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    • 5/5
      In the land of pomegranates and grapes, amongst goat and cow herders, where desert sands swirl and shift and offer up frankincense and jasmine, Manhattan journalist Jennifer Steil is hired to give a three week seminar in newspaper reporting in Yemen's ancient capital city of Sana'a. Steeped in historic and biblical legend, Sana'a is said to have been founded by Noah's son Shem, and is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. Yemen is a country consisting of a mixture of either desert people that still today live in caves thriving off a dry and desolate unforgiving land, or city residents that live in chocolate covered square mud buildings that are ornate with white icing-like adornments. Yet all Yemeni people are poor enough to be without many modern conveniences, money or food. Most people are illiterate, owning no other book beside the Qu'ran. Water is scarce. One must walk great distances for the privilege of hauling back a bucket or two of water for the family to drink. Few are lucky enough to be aware that ipods, cell phones, or large screen televisions exist, never mind be fortunate enough to own these gadgets we Americans take for granted. The author travels into the foreign world of the Taliban, the home of Osama Bin-Laden and the Al-Quaeda, and where suicide bombings are a daily event. Arriving to the Arabian Peninsula eager to experience this exotic yet troublesome world, Jennifer is immediately greeted by the staff of the Yemen Observer, patiently waiting for her to teach them what she knows about reporting in order to improve their newspapers' popularity. Thinking this was going to be a cinch, never did Jennifer imagine how difficult this challenge would be. Finding she needed to start from scratch with reporters who were strongly lacking in morals, ethics and a passable command of the English language, Jennifer embraces the job of integrating herself as friend, tutor, and mentor. Slowly working with a handful of both male and female reporters that are eager for her help, she becomes quickly aware that it will take nothing short of a miracle to get this newspaper up to professional standards in just under a month. The Woman Who Fell From the Sky is an excellent memoir of the author's life transforming experience in the land of Allah. This Muslim culture often throws her one exasperating challenge after another, as she learns of Yemen's history, culture, and of the kind and lovable people who welcome her into their lives with open arms. Her story is funny, interesting, eye opening, and intellectually stimulating, as the reader is pulled into a world we often hear about in a negative way. Jennifer enlightens us to the many wonders of the Middle East, and to the many thought provoking aspects of their religion and often confusing ways of life that we Americans might find stifling or archaic. Donning an abaya and head scarf, and learning to cover herself to assimilate into a world behind the veil, Jennifer is brought into the private world of the women of Yemen and surprisingly enjoys the idea of actually having her beauty hidden, and in some ways the freedom it can give. As she meets each new daily challenge, she soon becomes passionate about assisting the newspaper, and eventually takes on the job of managing editor and remains in Yemen. Her new friends become her family, she finds the love of her life, and truly becomes one with Sana'a. I whole-heartedly enjoyed Jennifer's story and found her to be an excellent writer who had the talent to praise the positive attributes of Yemen's country rather than focusing on the difficult and often frightening terrorist side of their history. She was able to portray her new friends with love, in an unbiased and non- condemning manner. Her ability to cheer her students on as they quickly improved their news reporting was generous and patient, showing what a gifted and kind person she herself is to have told their story so openly with charm. I give a many-star rating for this fabulous book. Lovers of the books "Eat, Pray, Love" and "Tales of A Female Nomad" will devour this story; book club discussion groups should push this to the top of their lists. Standing ovation for Jennifer Steil!!
    • 4/5
      I love a book by journalist, because they are usually well written. Journalists have a knack for using language as a tool to tell their story with eloquence and subtlety, and to my delight, The Woman who Fell from the Sky is no exception. Though upon first glance I was quick to write off Jennifer Steil's heart warming memoir about the struggles of an optimistic, eager to please, young female American journalist, who revitalizes a Yemeni newspaper (and ends up in an unconventional love affair), I was thoroughly charmed by her ability to spin her story. Her lyrically drawn impressions are at times sweet, but more often easy to relate to which allows the reader to connect with her commitment and Yemeni culture in a surprisingly passionate way. Readers looking for a little insight into the scandal which embroiled the author and the book will get just that--a unsatisfying portion of juicy detail. Instead the final chapters that broach the topic feel out of place and make for a disappointment culmination of Steil's story.
    • 4/5
      Editing a newspaper in Yemen.In 2006, American journalist, Jennifer Steil was asked to visit Sana'a for three weeks to improve the local English language newspaper. The paper was in serious need of upgrading and her initial three weeks eventually became a year's employment.Although her presence was initially viewed suspiciously by the male staff, the women accepted her immediately. Dealing with the female staff involved finding ways around their restrictive lifestyles. They came from traditional families and wore the long dress and head covering. They could not travel in a taxi with a male driver and were required to be home before evening. The men, on the other hand, had problems accepting instruction from a woman and no concept of time-keeping. In addition, everyone needed considerable improvements to their use of the English language.Jennifer had to teach all the staff how to begin a piece, how to be impartial and not to write articles promoting the paper's advertisers. She than had the problem of getting eveything laid out and ready to go for a twice-weekly deadline. At first this was acheived by about 3am, but eventually she managed to bring this forward by nearly 5 hours.Sana'a is a city that I visited for just 24hrs but it is a fascinating, ancient city and I loved Jennifer's descriptions of the place. She lived in a quaint old 'gingerbread' house and although she spent endless hours whipping the paper into shape, she also explored the city, both with colleagues and on her own. During her stay she also visited Soqotra Island and other areas of the Yemen.One of the fascinating aspects of being female but American was that Jennifer was accepted into both male and female societies. She was able to visit the women and converse with them without the head covering, but she was also received into male-only gatherings as an 'honoury' male.Although I loved the local flavour, I did find the detailed descriptions of the newspaper's problems and solutions a bit excessive. However, this was a good read and a book that I would recommend for those interested in a feel of Yemen.It is worth taking a look at the Yemen Observer which can be viewed online. Even after Ms Steil's year of improvements, some amusing articles can be found. It is not hard to imagine the state of the newspaper when she began her task.