5 Star Review for Albert Nasib Badre's "Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant"

The calendar says spring, a few days ago it was nearly 60 and today the yard is covered in snow and the highways are littered with accidents...  I am hopeful spring is on it's way and in the meantime WOW! Women on Writing is helping promote another wonderful book for a very talented author. It is my pleasure to read, review, and share the journey of Albert Nasib Badre with his memoir, Looking West.

Please contact me today if you'd like to help with this or any other book tour. If you've never participated in a tour, feel free to inquire and I'll be happy to explain how it works - you don't even have to have your own blog and it's a wonderful opportunity to help promote authors while reading the latest books before anyone else can get their hands on them!

Send an email today - email address: crystal@wow-womenonwriting.com or crystaljotto@gmail.com

Now onto this beautiful journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant named Albert Nasib Badre and his moving memoir Looking West.

Looking West begins in 1960 as the Badre family emigrates from Beirut, Lebanon to the United States. This is a dream come true for fourteen-year-old Nasib.

Nasib struggles to assimilate as a teen in Albany, New York. With limited English skills, he attempts to learn new customs, make friends, and adapt to a different culture. In Beirut, the Badre family was well-known and socially privileged. In America, they are unknown nobodies. Nasib adopts his father’s name “Albert,” and to further Americanize his name, young Albert becomes “Al.”

Despite the many frustrations and difficulties, Al’s ultimate goal is to become a successful American. The new anonymity actually inspires the young man. Excited by the opportunities available to him in his new country, he determines to make a potent contribution to society.

As he strives to adapt, Al reads voraciously, becoming increasingly interested in religion and philosophy. Books become his “American friends,” and reading soon prompts him to ask deep theological questions about his family’s Lebanese Protestant roots, his mother’s conversion to Catholicism, and the contrast between the Protestant and Catholic faiths. This ultimately leads to his Catholic conversion.

Al’s search for meaning in life leads him to social activism among New York City’s poorest. And, in time, to graduate studies, where his desire is to improve the human condition through information technology.

Al Badre—like many other American immigrants--works his way through hardship to achieve a meaningful place in his adopted nation.

Paperback: 267 pages
Publisher: WidO Publishing
ASIN: B07N6LR52T
ISBN: 9781947966130

Looking West: The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.



About the Author:

Albert Nasib Badre is an American author born in Beirut, Lebanon. He immigrated to the United
States with his family in 1960 at the age of fourteen. His family made Albany, N.Y. their first home in America where he attended a private Catholic high school through his Junior year. After three years in Albany, the family moved to Iowa City, Iowa, when his father accepted a professor position at the University of Iowa. He finished his senior year at Iowa City High School, then went on to the University of Iowa where he got a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. After college, he spent a year as a social worker in New York City. Deciding social work was not for him, he went on to pursue graduate studies at the University of Michigan where he got his Ph.D. in 1973.

He spent the next thirty years at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and today he’s Professor Emeritus of Computing. During his tenure at Georgia Tech, he was an international consultant specializing in designing technology to enhance the human experience. Dr. Badre was an early pioneer in the field of human-centric design, with some thirty years of experience in human-computer interaction, learning technologies, and human-centric e-learning. His background combines expertise in the empirical methodologies of the behavioral sciences and the design approaches of the computing sciences.

Dr. Badre authored numerous technical papers, is co-editor of the book Directions in Human Computer Interaction, and the author of the book, Shaping Web Usability: Interaction Design in Context, which was adopted in several dozen courses worldwide. His memoirs, Looking West, is the story of his coming of age immigration to America and subsequent conversion to the Catholic Church.

Today, Dr. Badre and his wife live in Providence, R.I., near his son and family, where he leads a very active volunteer life, in service to the community.

Find Albert Online:

Website: https://www.badremusings.com

Twitter: @anbadre

Instagram: @anbadre

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/197752.Albert_N_Badre

5 Star Book Review by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto

Looking West is a memoir about Albert Nasib Badre’s journey as a Lebanese-American immigrant. I was touched by his story and drawn completely in by his storytelling. The relationship factor throughout the story helped me feel kindred with Badre (even though I’ve never left the country much less immigrated).I was drawn in from the first page:

“I was home from school for the regular two-hour lunch recess and

was wet and hungry; I certainly had no idea this would be a

pivotal day in my life. All I cared about at that

moment was lunch, the main meal of the day.”

My mother sat down with my two older 

brothers and me at the table….”

Not only did these opening paragraphs seem believable to me, but I could picture myself as a sibling at the table or as the mother, preparing her children for an exciting yet unimaginable change. I immediately related to the family and characters in Looking West and couldn’t help but feel as if I were on the journey with them.

Badre is as I said before, is a fabulous storyteller, but his personality also makes this a winning story. His positive attitude from childhood into adulthood drew me to him (as both the author and as the character in the memoir). There are so many examples of this positive vibe, but one that stuck out in particular is chapter 8:

“THE FUTURE AND THE PAST 

ABRUPTLY FADED, REPLACED BY

the excitement of the present moment 

as Ramsey said, 

‘Let’s go explore the ship.’”

Imagine being a 14 year old boy leaving your country and yet instead of fear or anger, feeling excitement and being drawn to explore with your brothers. As Badre tells this story, he could easily remember the enthusiasm he felt as a teen – this spoke volumes to me about his resilience and overall positive attitude.

There wasn’t any point in Looking West where I felt disconnected from the story or family. Badre’s storytelling and overall tone kept me wanting more. I felt connected to the family and vested in a sort of relationship with them. This was an insightful memoir; it drew me in and helped me understand what it was like to be a teen in the 60’s and an American Immigrant. This is a story everyone should read right now as it is sure to spark empathy during this time of political and economic unrest in the world around us.


....Upcoming Blog Tour Stops

April 15th @ Selling Books with Cathy Stucker
Cathy Stucker interview Albert Nasib Badre about his empowering memoir Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant. Readers at Selling Books are looking forward to learning more about this touching journey.
https://www.sellingbooks.com/

April 16th @ To Write or Not to Write with Sreevarsha Sreejith
Sreevarsha Sreejith reviews Looking West by Albert Nasib Badre. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from Sreevarsha and visit To Write or Not to Write.
http://sreevarshasreejith.blogspot.com/

April 16th @ Lisa Haselton Reviews and Interview
Don't miss today's empowering and honest interview between Lisa Haselton and Albert Nasib Badre - you will want to learn more about Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant in this touching memoir.
http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/

April 17th @ Linda Appleman Shapiro
Well known book reviewer and fellow memoirist Linda Appleman Shapiro reviews Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant by Albert Nasib Badre.
http://applemanshapiro.com/category/book-reviews/

April 19th @ Memoir Revolution with Jerry Waxler
Jerry Waxler thoroughly enjoyed reader Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant by Albert Nasib Badre and shares his thoughts with readers at Memoir Revolution. Don't miss this insightful review of Badre's touching memoir.
https://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/

April 22nd @ Author Anthony Avina
Author Anthony Avina delights readers at his blog as he reviews the moving memoir Looking West by Albert Nasib Badre.
https://authoranthonyavinablog.com/

April 23rd @ Beverley A. Baird
Beverley A. Baird reviews the memoir Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant by Albert Nasib Badre.
https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com/

April 25th @ Writing Through Life
Amber interviews Albert Nasib Badre about his moving memoir Looking West - don't miss this opportunity to learn more about the journey of this successful Lebanese-American immigrant.
http://writingthroughlife.com/

April 26th @ Breakeven Books
Today's author spotlight at Breakeven Books is none other than memoirist and immigrant Albert Nasib Badre with his touching story Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant. Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about this inspirational coming of age memoir.
https://breakevenbooks.com/

April 29th @ Coffee with Lacey
Lacey reviews "Looking West" by Albert Nasib Badre - readers at Coffee with Lacey will delight in this beautiful coming of age memoir and one man's journey as a Lebanese-American immigrant.
https://coffeewithlacey.com/

April 30th @ Choices by Madeline Sharples
Today's guest post titled "The Backstory: Letters, Photos, and Conversations" is penned by Albert Nasib Badre. Don't miss this great post and opportunity to learn about Badre's memoir Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant.
http://madelinesharples.com/

May 1st @ Lisa M. Buske
Description:Fellow author Lisa M. Buske reviews the inspirational and touching memoir Looking West by Albert Nasib Badre. Don't miss this opportunity to hear Lisa's thoughts on this powerful story.
http://www.lisambuske.com/blog

May 7th @ Bring on Lemons with Karen Levy
Israeli-American author Karen Levy reviews Looking West; The Journey of a Lebanese-American Immigrant by Albert Nasib Badre.
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/