About the Author

Ahed Tamimi is a Palestinian activist from Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank. As a child, she rose to global prominence for confronting Israeli soldiers during weekly demonstrations, which led to her imprisonment at the age of sixteen. She is studying international law at Birzeit University and plans to use her degree to advance the struggle for a free Palestine.

Dena Takruri is an award-winning journalist who has reported extensively on the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Europe's refugee crisis, and other global struggles. The daughter of Palestinian immigrants, Dena was born and raised in the United States, yet spent many summers in Palestine. She is a Senior Presenter and Producer at AJ+ and has previously worked at HuffPost Live and Al Jazeera Arabic.

Reviews

“I cannot even begin to convey the clarity, the intensity, the power, the photographic storytelling of They Called Me a Lioness. Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri lay bare seemingly every terrifying aspect of Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians, and the relentless freedom fight of Palestinians and their Israeli allies. Read and bear witness.”—Ibram X. Kendi, internationally bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist

“Throughout the book, [Ahed] Tamimi navigates the delicate balance between anger and hope and between despair and determination. With her compelling voice, she roars through the pages, demanding attention and change. They Called Me a Lioness is a testament to the power of not just one individual’s bravery, but a whole village’s commitment to fighting for justice in the face of adversity.”—Middle East Monitor, Palestine Book Awards

“A powerful, moving combination of a memoir of personal resistance with a panoramic overview of the history of Palestine that leaves the reader with a detailed understanding of the daily realities of life under Israeli military occupation.”—Omar Robert Hamilton, author of The City Always Wins

“With more courage than any child should ever have to possess, Ahed Tamimi showed the world more than once what it looks like when you refuse to consent to your own obliteration. In this gripping, painful, and inspiring book, she tells the parts of the story that the cameras always miss: the slow and grinding humiliations of the occupation; the heartache of losing loved ones to Israeli prisons and guns; the cruelties of imprisonment; the love, laughter, and strength in solidarity that are necessary to keep living, breathing, and fighting against enormous odds. For anyone planning to stay alive on this planet in these perilous times, They Called Me a Lioness is urgent and essential reading.”—Ben Ehrenreich, author of The Way to the Spring

“This passionate memoir shines a floodlight on a people, a place, and a problem that the world too often discounts. Beautifully written, They Called Me a Lioness humanizes the daily headlines of occupation and resistance. Tamimi’s story will rattle your soul and ignite calls for justice, equality, and peace.”—Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, author of What the Eyes Don’t See

“Lioness is a book to be consumed by and to sob through—and I felt ignited throughout by Tamimi’s exuberant hope that state violence can be met by a proud and joyous refusal and an unswerving belief that Palestine will one day be free.”—Eileen Myles, poet, author of Chelsea Girls

“Writing with journalist Takruri, Tamimi delivers a passionately argued, profoundly empathetic, and deeply informed examination of her country’s occupation. Her circumspection and clarity of thought are matched only by her vulnerability. An expertly crafted, trenchant memoir from a formidable activist.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)