I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir

Gharib spends summers in Egypt with her father, her stepmother Hala, and her half-siblings. Her father is proud of having an “American daughter,” but Gharib doesn’t feel like a “real American” due to her name, skin color, accent, and eating habits.

Her dad imparts life lessons to her and talks to her about politics and history, things her Filipino family never discusses. Hala shows her how to care for her curly hair, helps her with her first period, buys her first pair of heels, and teaches her other feminine things.

In Egypt, Gharib experiences things she has never seen in California, like extreme poverty and explosions from the Second Intifada along the Gaza Strip. She thinks at the time these experiences make her a “true Egyptian,” but in adulthood she realizes she lacks the knowledge her American friends with Egyptian parents have, like how to speak Arabic or dress for Egyptian social events. When she feels disappointed in the cultural knowledge her father bestowed her, she remembers that the most important thing was getting to spend time with him.