Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life (edition 2003)

Royalty is always fun to read about. This lady lives an interesting life and clearly made an important contribution to her adopted country adding some needed glamor. ( )

I learned a lot from reading this, about a part of the world I didn't know at all, except from all the stereotypes.
A fascinating look at a turbulent time through the eyes of a woman that started her life in the USA, yet made her real home in Jordania, by marrying its King.
The only thing that was somewhat irksome to me was the way she so seldomly referred to her husband as well, yes, my husband or just Hussein.
The King, King Hussein- and that from a loving wife?
Still,@ athenasowl: "Sidi" is Arab for friend, not Sir.
All in all, I think this is a wonderful read, by a strong, determined woman who did manage to both adjust to her life in the Middle East and still be true to herself; which did make a difference to that area.
And I thank my friend Rosa for reccing it to me! ( )

Queen Noor, formerly known as Lisa Hallaby, has graciously given us an intriguing look into a world we usually see through edited cameras on our nightly news. I found this memoir honest, touching and a reminder to me that every story has two sides.

An American girl (although half Arab on her father's side so not looked at in the Middle East as American, but as an Arab coming home) she meets and falls in love with King Hussein of Jordan. we watch her grow from young, insecure girl, to a woman determined to dedicate herself so fully to Hussein and to his people--her people. We see her in many capacities throughout the book: strong woman with her own opinions; wife; Queen; mother; defender; humanitarian -- an absolutely fascinating read. ( )

I've wondered before: Why does a hippie child of the Kennedy era (her father ran the FAA for Kennedy and integrated the airports, which I'm appalled to learn needed doing) marry a much older potentate whom she refers to as 'the King,' 'my husband,' 'His Majesty,' 'Sidhi' (Sir), but not as 'Hussein'? Answer: Daddy issues.
He was a remarkable politician though and there's a lot of good stuff about the Jordanian POV in Middle East politics here. I had not realized how unequally natural resources are distributed in the region. Jordan does not have oil and is dependent on states that do.

This book is really fascinating. As other reviewers have noted, it is about an American-born woman with Arab roots who marries the King of Jordan. Queen Noor's revelations about her day to day life as Queen of Jordan are fascinating. She tries to explain how she went from Lisa Halaby to Queen Noor, and I find her attempts at explaining her extraordinary life alternatively believable and frustrating. Believable because at the heart of it she truly does seem to love the King, in many ways they seem to be a good match, and with her Arab roots she does have some ties to (some of) the Jordanian people. I feel really frustrated, though, with the parts of the book in which she makes it sound like becoming the Queen was as easy as putting on a different pair of shoes. For instance, when she discusses changing her name from Lisa to Noor. She says that the name Noor is the best gift the King ever gave her, that she was glad to give up her given name Lisa, and that she never felt attached to her original name and gladly became this new person. She also talks about her instinctive need early on to protect the king and squash her own needs to avoid adding to his stress. The eagerness with which she immediately abandons her own work, her name, and her own life is just a little too Stepford wife. It smacks a bit of both martyrdom and a deep subservience that suggests Daddy Issues or hero worship. Some of the book's political overviews and commentary is helpful, but I cannot say how much I retained. Imagine reading about complex and centuries-old political issues of multiple countries featuring lots of people you've never heard of, combined with historical commentary of a time you can't remember, in a culture not your own, and it's a bit much to soak in. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that after reading her numerous and lengthy summaries of political events, it's pretty much in-one-ear-and-out-the-other for me. I think that is because the explanations (like the events themselves) are so long and convoluted that I eventually give up, feeling like I am never going to understand it anyway. Still, some knowledge is better than none at all, and I didn't expect to come away from reading this book with a deep understanding of the region's politics.My cynical side insists that I note the definite hints of propaganda throughout the book. Naturally I do not expect her to be neutral, but her acccounts of King Hussein suggest that he was superhuman, and that Jordan was an innocent bystander in the many and varied Middle Eastern skirmishes. I'm skeptical of both. But it did give me a surface-level understanding of the deep and nuanced complexities of the Middle East, where no country is really innocent, each country has legitimate gripes, and there are no easy answers. ( )