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Bookshelf Basics: “I Was Their American Dream”

By | November 18th, 2021
Posted in Columns | % Comments

All-ages graphic novels are more diverse and prolific than ever. With so much great content out there – and more arriving every week – sifting through it all can be a daunting task. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, teacher, librarian or young reader, Multiversity’s #BookshelfBasics is here to help. By highlighting a blend of newly released and classic titles for younger readers, we’ll help you find a book that’s perfect for you, even as your tastes and interests change. In today’s installment we look at “I Was Their American Dream” by Malaka Gharib, one of the most unfiltered and honest first-generation immigrant stories you’ll find in any medium.

Written and Illustrated
by Malaka Gharib

“I Was Their American Dream” is at once a coming-of-age story and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated 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.

Okay, Let’s Start with the Basics

“I Was Their American Dream” is written and illustrated by Malaka Gharib, Deputy Editor and Digital Strategist for NPR’s global health and development blog, Goats and Soda. Her previous comics have appeared in numerous online and print publications, including The New York Times, The Nib, The New Yorker and Catapult Magazine. This is her first full-length work.

What’s It All About?

“I was their American Dream” is the autobiographical tale of a Third Culture Kid growing up in Cerritos, California. The narrative largely centers on Gharib’s confusion and social miscues as she learns how to navigate white-dominated spaces and various white people sub-cultures.

Gharib is the first-generation immigrant daughter of a Filipino Catholic mother and an Egyptian Muslim father – a situation so unique it almost sounds like it was cooked up by a room of Millennial sit-com writers. The logical successor to shows like “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Never Have I Ever” and “Kim’s Convenience.”

As someone who is simultaneously “inside” and “outside” multiple cultures, Gharib recognizes the inherent comedic potential of her highly unique circumstance. Her observations are witty, wry and tinged with self-deprecating humor, but she never just plays it for lolz. The jokes are plentiful, but overall tone is tender.

A great example is when Gharib interrogates the racially charged question so often posed to brown and Black people throughout the U.S.: “What are you?” As in, “What’s your ethnicity? Where are your parents/grandparents from? How do you identify culturally?”

Ironically, it’s a question Gharib loves. As she moves through high school and college, she learns how the question is a microaggression. In the meantime, it gives her a chance to explain where she’s coming from: “Well, I’m Egyptian Filipino. I grew up with my Filipino family here in Cerritos. I eat rice every day and I went to Catholic school, but my dad is a Muslim who lives in Egypt. I spend my summers with him. I can understand Tagalog and Arabic. So I guess, both? Well, I kind of feel more Filipino because that’s who I spent more time with….” There is no easy answer and it’s a question that Gharib wrestles with throughout the book, especially when it comes to religion.

Gharib’s parents got divorced when she was quite young and her father moved back to Egypt. From that point forward, Gharib spent the school year in California and her summers in Egypt, constantly code switching to adapt to her current surroundings.

In the midst of all this change, our young protagonist finds herself sometimes drawn to “white people stuff” like Weezer, Kurt Vonnegut and the cult film “Donnie Darko.” Unsurprisingly, perhaps, her multicultural peers accuse her of being whitewashed. Gharib loathes the label, and yet, it’s still not nearly as bad as the ultimate insult, being a poser.

Even as a reader, Gharib’s confusion can sometimes feel overwhelming. And we’re not even the ones who have to tiptoe through the minefield of cliques, inconsistent social mores and contrasting cultural norms. There are no easy answers, but Gharib never shies away from asking difficult questions.

Continued below

What makes it essential?

“I Was Their American Dream” is the kind of book where the personal becomes universal. A lot of people tend to call any book that features sequential art a “graphic novel.” Malaka Ghairb describes her book as a graphic memoir and that simple distinction is key.

Gharib packs her story with an abundance of rich and nuanced detail about her family life, education and “Big Fat Filipino-Egyptian-American Southern Baptist-Muslim Wedding.” Yeah, as noted above, it’s a highly unique situation. The number of readers with the same exact cultural background must be exceedingly small. At the same time, the struggle to define who she is – and who she wants to be – is common to virtually anyone who’s endured their awkward teenage years, particularly the children of immigrant parents.

Gharib’s self-deprecating sense of humor, unfiltered honesty and playful tone make her story incredibly accessible and an absolute joy to read. Beyond the mere narrative, she intersperses her story with interactive asides like a tear-out zine, paper dolls and a bingo card. “Tear this page out of the book,” she says. “(Yes, really do it now! And do it neatly.)”

It’s not a mere metaphor. As she unspools the winding, complex journey of her life, she literally invites the reader to walk along with her. It’s like, in the midst of her story, she’s decided to simply show us instead of merely telling. She hands us her open journal and asks us to flip through its pages while she continues to search for the words that explain what she’s talking about.

With unvarnished language and unpretentious, highly effective imagery, Gharib bares her soul and explains her complex attitudes toward – and relationships with – white-dominated culture and her unique place within that world. Unlike the proverbial Hero’s Journey with a clear and concrete beginning, middle and end, Gharib’s “coming of age” story is somewhat amorphous and ongoing. It demands tangents and side-notes and a lot of thinking out loud. Like a best friend or a confidant, she invites us walk along with her on this intimate, ongoing process. Gharib is the one who’s lived it, but as she seeks understanding, she asks us to help her process what it all means.

How Can You Read It?

You can find “I Was Their American Dream” wherever books are sold, as well as your local comic shop and online retailers. You can also find ebook editions on your favorite ebook platform, including Kindle, Kobo and Google Play. Also, if it’s not at your library, ask them to buy a copy.

Why Should it be on Your Shelf?

With an abundance rich detail and unfiltered observations, Malaka Gharib takes us on her complex and highly unique coming of age story, “I Was Their American Dream.” It’s a beautiful, moving story told with wit and humor and profound honesty.


//TAGS | bookshelf basics

John Schaidler

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