Etaf Rum is a Palestinian American author. Her debut novel, A Woman is No Man (2019), became a New York Times bestseller, and hit the ninth spot on Amazon's Bestseller List.
The daughter of Palestinian immigrants, Etaf Rum was raised as one of nine siblings in a conservative Muslim family in Brooklyn. At 19, she entered into a marriage of convenience on the condition that she be allowed to attend college. However, family life has taken its toll on her career she'd had two children before age 23.
"In the back of my mind, I had fears about a woman's place in the community based on what I'd seen growing up and the limits placed on women as opposed to men within my own family," she said POPSUGAR. "Even though I had an arranged marriage very young — and grew up in a very sheltered household — I felt I could still break the cycle if I didn't allow myself to be subjugated, oppressed, or treated unfairly based on my gender."
Rum enrolled in North Carolina State University while she was pregnant with her first child. Finally, she has a Master of Arts in American and British Literature as well as undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and English Composition.
The novel A Woman is No Man formed in her student years. Focusing on Palestinian-American women of three generations, Deya, Isra, and Farida, the novel delves into the roles and expectations of women in the Arab community. Set in Brooklyn, the novel gives readers a glimpse of how traditional ideas and modern feminism intertwine.
"One of the reasons why I wrote this book is because I really wanted to understand why the characters in this novel — or the characters in my own life — did the things that they did," Etaf Rum said.
A Woman Is No Man became a New York Times bestseller and was picked by Jenna Bush Hager as her book club's May 2019 read.
Since her divorce, Rum has channeled all her energy into her next books and raising her children.
Etaf Rum currently lives with her two children and teaches undergraduate courses in North Carolina.
Photo credit: etafrum.com
