Finding My Place Read online

  Acknowledgements

  This book would not have been possible without the unwavering support and efforts of so many people. Firstly, my husband, Dave, to whom I dedicate this book, for his endless encouragement and for consistently reassuring me that I have a story to tell. To my sons, Adam and Karim, who have been a fountain of inspiration for everything I do. To my dad, Mahmoud, who rests in peace and my mum, Hamida, for showing me how to be strong even without the shadow of a man. My thanks also to my brother, my sister and their families for being part of this story. To the Allens, the Osmans, the el Serougis, the Bacons, the Ridas and the Alys who make up my extended family, I hope there are so many more stories for us to share for so many years to come.

  I am overwhelmingly grateful to Jude McGee and Barbara McClenahan for their dedication and hard work and for helping me to find my place through storytelling. Thank you also to Alexandra Nahlous for helping turn thoughts into words into a story to be told.

  A bigly huge thank you hug to all my office staff, Robbie, Samantha, Rosie, Carley, Izzy, Daniel and Bella, for listening to me talk about this book for a whole year and never ever rolling their eyes in frustration (even though I know you all were thinking it).

  This book was written entirely on aeroplanes as I flew to and from Canberra. So it is only fitting that I should also acknowledge the wonderful crew at Qantas for always filling my coffee cup and bringing me nuts and cookies to keep me going during the twenty-nine flights it took to write this book.

  Finally, to all the women who have come before me and to those who will come after me, who have struggled in their lives, no matter who you are or what your struggle, I hope that my story goes some way, however small, to letting you know that you are not alone.

  About the Author

  Federal parliamentarian DR ANNE ALY was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1967 and migrated to Australia at the age of two. Formerly a professor at Edith Cowan University, Anne is an internationally renowned expert in counterterrorism and counter-radicalisation, and was the only Australian to be invited to President Obama’s White House conference on violent extremism in 2015. As a single working mother of two young boys, she worked for years on the minimum wage to send them to school and put food on the table. Anne is the Founding Chair of a youth-oriented not-for-profit organisation that harnesses youth entrepreneurship and innovation to address global issues at the local level.

  In her spare time, Anne enjoys indulging in bad reality television and reading books that she purchased at airports.

  Copyright

  The ABC ‘Wave’ device is a trademark of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and is used under licence by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia

  First published in Australia in 2018

  by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited

  ABN 36 009 913 517

  harpercollins.com.au

  Copyright © Anne Aly 2018

  The right of Anne Aly to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

  This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  HarperCollinsPublishers

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  ISBN 978 0 7333 3848 9 (pbk)

  ISBN 978 1 4607 0874 3 (ebook)

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia

  Cover design by Alissa Dinallo

  Front cover image by Nic Walker / Fairfax Syndication