WE ARE NOT HERE TO BE BYSTANDERS A Memoir of Love and Resistance

Author Linda Sarsour narrates her life story in a confident, powerful tone that reflects her role as an activist who is particularly known for co-organizing the Women's March. Even when she speaks about exhausting hours and the death of her mentor, her volume is loud and her resilience unwavering. Her Brooklyn accent, with its hard, flat sounds, projects a steely quality that fits her. This Muslim-American leader has accomplished much in her young life because her perseverance matches her compassion in equal measure. Her toughness is evident when she tells off an intruder. Particularly chilling is her description of the aftermath of a car accident, when she juxtaposes her mentor's repeated cries of "I can't breathe" with those same words being chanted by protesters demonstrating against police brutality. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2020]