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B.R.A.G. MEDALLION HONOREE INDIE READER BEST REVIEWED BOOKS REVIEWS: "Author Amelia S. Hussain pulls no punches in her funny, poignant, graceful, enlightening and well-written memoir SOUTHERN CONVERT, which chronicles her life after donning the hijab (Muslim headscarf) and, in doing so, goes from Iowan girl next door to public enemy #1. Her story epitomizes today's heartbreaking needless cultural divides, prejudices and injustices from a very personal perspective." -- Indie Reader Discovery Awards 2020 Verdict. "Warm, smart, interesting, and fun." --Gritty Girls Podcast. Description: What happens when a White American woman assumes a minority identity? Thirty-something Amelia makes that life changing decision in May 2004, when she puts on a headscarf and heads to work at a rural meat processing company. She does not anticipate it, but on that day she gives up her majority identity and affiliation with so-called "real America" to adopt that of a small, widely disliked minority. From the blue collar Midwest, to California, to Cairo, to the Ultra-Conservative Bible Belt; from Catholic, to Agnostic, to Muslim, Ms. Hussain offers a unique story and perspective to share with an ever more divided America, and world. Southern Convert is a memoir of how a romantic encounter in Egypt led to Islam and Amelia's reflections upon the subsequent impact, to herself and important others, on her marriage, religion, and the increasingly difficult choice to declare her Muslim faith by wearing the hijab head covering. Her experiences may echo in some ways those of authors born Muslim, but her distinctly American sentiment and sensibilities skew her course differently in myriad ways. Amelia takes the reader along as she travels a thorny path through multiple identity transformations and attempts to find a place in two worlds in which she struggles to belong; as she navigates the dichotomy between others' perceptions of her as oppressed, exotic, the willing victim of misogynists, and even angelic versus who she believes she is: a reasonably well-educated, feminist, soccer mom from the Midwest and Southern United States.Amelia invites the reader to play voyeur as she comes to better understand a broadening world and her new place in it. Always keeping to her roots and believing in the power of understanding versus division, Southern Convert is for the political junkie, the psychology aficionado, the social conservative and social justice warrior alike, and for anyone looking for a good laugh. Whilst sharing a compelling, albeit unpredictable tale, Amelia weaves in important contemporary issues without taking herself too seriously. Ms. Hussain holds a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and an MBA. She lives in Houston with her handsome husband and two wonderful boys. At the center of their family life is integrity in all things.