I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib

Series: N/A
# of Pages: 160
Publication: April 30th, 2019
Source: Library Book
Genre: Graphic Memoir
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Malaka's upbringing will look familiar to anyone who grew up in the pre-internet era, but her particular story is a heartfelt tribute to the American immigrants who have invested their future in the promise of the American dream. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigates her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid. I Was Their American Dream is at once a journal of growing up and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children.

While I don’t read a lot of graphic memoirs, I always try to get my hands on one when it appeals to my interest. I found this book on my library’s website when I was scrolling through the recently purchased books. Not only did I love the cover, but I was extremely interested in the narrative of a writer from a multi-ethnic background. Malaka’s writing was more than just interesting, it provided thorough insight to the struggles of those that come from multiple ethnicities and live in America. Malaka spent quite a bit of time growing up around her Filipino family while living in a diverse town in California. She spent her summers in Egypt with her father. What I loved was the unveiling of struggles that Malaka faced growing up. She did grow up in an area where it wasn’t abnormal for people to come from a variety of backgrounds. It was normal to ask friends and acquaintances “what are you?” It isn’t until later that Malaka learns that this can be considered offensive to some individuals. Even with her background, Malaka and her family members still put certain aspects of white people on a pedestal. To me this spoke to the idea that those of us who come from different ethnicities and cultures often fall prey to thinking that there are characteristics of white people that surpass our identities as people of color. For me, as a black woman, this becomes extremely evident in the way that black women treat their hair. We used to grow up thinking that straight, slick hair like those of traditional European standards is what we needed to be successful ultimately forgoing our natural hair to fit white standards. Malaka goes through the same thing in both high school and college. I love how she shamelessly explores her experiences with these thoughts. I do appreciate that these thoughts and experiences changed as she got older and gained experience in the corporate world. Honestly, it was a great book. There were even some aspects of the book that were interactive. My only criticism is the coloring of the artwork. I’m not sure why but some of the coloring bothered me and distracted me from the text. If you’re interested in graphic memoirs I would definitely recommend checking it out.