Elon University Features Frances Fuller, Award Winning Author Of 'In Borrowed Houses', As Guest Speaker At Recent Event

Fuller's memoir, 'In Borrowed Houses' details her many years spent in Lebanon as a Christian publisher. It is an utterly unique and engaging book that could have been written by no other person

Frances Fuller, author of 'In Borrowed Houses', was a guest speaker at Elon University, Burlington, N.C., on May 7, 2015.  Drawing on thirty years of experience in the Middle East, Fuller addressed a large group of faculty, staff and students in the university’s Numen Lumen Center.  Her topic was “Faith and Love in Wartime Lebanon.”  She also answered questions from the audience, and following her lecture, the local Barnes and Noble Bookstore handled sales while Fuller signed books.

"My talk," Fuller stated, "was really on 'How to Think About the Middle East'. Lebanon is a microcosm of the Middle East critical to the outcome of the current upheaval which is partly about the inability to live with diversity.  The Lebanese have already fought about that and learned that no one is strong enough to subjugate the others. Lebanon is the most diverse country in the Middle East, and they have to live together.  It is that or suicide."

"Lebanon's population of four million is trying to take care of two million refugees, and its infrastructure is on the verge of collapse. What the world can do to save Lebanon is to help take care of these refugees.  We (Americans) did a lot to help create the mess the Arabs are in, and w can't help solve the problems without acknowledging that. If we don't have any guilt we are not thinking very well."

Told in short episodes, Fuller’s book reveals the alienation, confusion and courage of civilians in the Lebanese civil war, introducing to the reader a variety of real people with whom the author interacts: editors, salesmen, neighbors, refugees, soldiers, missionaries, lawyers, shepherds, artists, students. With these people she works, studies, plays games, prays, laughs and cries, all to the accompaniment of gunfire. Together these small stories tell what war is like for civilians caught on a battlefield, and they create the impression of the Lebanese as a fun-loving, witty, patient and resilient people. They also compose, not a political history, but a historical document of a time and a place.

Critics have praised  ‘In Borrowed Houses.’ A judge in the 22nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards called 'In Borrowed Houses' “…a well written book full of compassion…a captivating story…”. Another reviewer described the book as “Wise, honest, sensitive, funny, heart-wrenching…”. Colin Chapman, lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut said, “….western Christians and Middle Eastern Christians need to read this story…full of remarkable perceptiveness and genuine hope.”

'In Borrowed Houses' took top honors in the 2014 '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' book awards. Frances was chosen as the result of her appearance on The Authors Show Radio. She also took a Bronze Medal in the Illumination Book Awards

A video of Fuller's lecture can be viewed on Elon’s Education on Demand website: http://blogs.elon.edu/ondemand/2015/05/07/. Frances Fuller is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at frances0516@att.net. Fuller's book is available at Amazon and other book retailers. More information is available at her website at http://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com.

About Elon University:

As noted in Elon University's mission statement, “Preparing students to be global citizens” is central to the mission of Elon University, and it has turned its interfaith chaplaincy into a national model program, serving students of all religious backgrounds and providing activities and lectures that promote dialogue.

About Frances Fuller:

Frances Fuller spent thirty years in the violent Middle East and for twenty-four of those years was the director of a Christian publishing program with offices in Lebanon. While leading the development of spiritual books in the Arabic language, she survived long years of civil war and invasions.

Frances holds degrees in Journalism, Creative Writing and Religious Education, and she studied Arabic at Georgetown University. She and her husband, James Wayne Fuller, live now in the foothills of the Sierras in California. They have five children, ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Contact:

Frances Fuller
http://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com
frances0516@att.net

Leia Mais…

100th Anniversary Of The Armenian Genocide: Award-Winning Author Frances Fuller Puts A Face On The Middle East

Fuller's memoir, 'In Borrowed Houses' details her many years spent in Lebanon as a Christian publisher. It is an utterly unique and engaging book that could have been written by no other person

Frances Fuller's award-winning memoir, 'In Borrowed Houses', gives us a penetrating glimpse of the Middle East from the inside. She puts a face on the Middle East many Americans have not yet seen. In that 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Fuller's story is especially interesting, as she interacted directly with the families of some of the survivors. In a recent post she wrote:

"Armenians around the world are observing this month the 100th anniversary of the great disaster that befell them at the hand of the Ottoman Turks.  For so many years they have appealed to the world to name this purge a 'genocide.'  And all these years Turkey, the successor state of the Ottomans who ruled the Middle East for 400 years, has claimed that 1,500,000 Armenians just happened to die in the fighting.

"Historical evidence keeps mounting---memories passed down, letters, old news clippings, excavations, even photographs, all pointing toward a systematic extermination.  The world knows that on April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities in Constantinople rounded up 250 Armenian intellectuals and leaders.  Their disappearance was followed by mass murders and deportations.  Women, children, the elderly and infirm were marched by soldiers into the desert where many died of hunger and exposure.  The New York Times of December 15, 1915, reported that already a million Armenians had been killed or exiled.  About 23 nations, including Lebanon, have recognized this catastrophe as genocide.

"This is the background story of many in the Armenian community in Lebanon, a people who came as refugees, bringing nothing but their intelligence and talent, their love of art and music, their faith and their memories.  Lebanon received them into the fabric of a diverse country that they have enriched both culturally and economically. The Armenian Christians are one of the 18 faith communities who endured long years of civil war and invasions in Lebanon."

Told in short episodes, Fuller’s book reveals the alienation, confusion and courage of civilians in the Lebanese civil war, introducing to the reader a variety of real people with whom the author interacts: editors, salesmen, neighbors, refugees, soldiers, missionaries, lawyers, shepherds, artists, students. With these people she works, studies, plays games, prays, laughs and cries, all to the accompaniment of gunfire. Together these small stories tell what war is like for civilians caught on a battlefield, and they create the impression of the Lebanese as a fun-loving, witty, patient and resilient people. They also compose, not a political history, but a historical document of a time and a place.

Critics have praised  ‘In Borrowed Houses.’ A judge in the 22nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards called 'In Borrowed Houses' “…a well written book full of compassion…a captivating story…”. Another reviewer described the book as “Wise, honest, sensitive, funny, heart-wrenching…”. Colin Chapman, lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut said, “….western Christians and Middle Eastern Christians need to read this story…full of remarkable perceptiveness and genuine hope.”

Frances Fuller is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at frances0516@att.net. Fuller's book is available at Amazon and other book retailers. More information is available at her website at http://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com.

About Frances Fuller:

Frances Fuller spent thirty years in the violent Middle East and for twenty-four of those years was the director of a Christian publishing program with offices in Lebanon. While leading the development of spiritual books in the Arabic language, she survived long years of civil war and invasions.

Frances holds degrees in Journalism, Creative Writing and Religious Education, and she studied Arabic at Georgetown University. She and her husband, James Wayne Fuller, live now in the foothills of the Sierras in California. They have five children, ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Contact:

Frances Fuller
http://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com
frances0516@att.net

Leia Mais…

Frances Fuller, Author Of ‘In Borrowed Houses’ Takes First Place In '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' Book Awards

Frances Fuller was chosen from a field of hundreds of authors who appeared on The Authors Show Radio in 2014. Frances also took the Bronze Medal in the Illumination Book Awards in the Memoir category. 'In Borrowed Houses' details her years in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War

Frances Fuller, author of 'In Borrowed Houses,’ took top honors in the '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' book awards. Winners will appear in this year’s edition of the awards book. Frances was chosen as the result of her appearance on The Authors Show Radio. She also took a Bronze Medal in the Illumination Book Awards.

In the tradition of books like 'Out Of Africa' and 'City Of Joy,’ Frances Fuller's memoir offers readers a glimpse into day-to-day life that is completely unlike the experience of most Americans. 'In Borrowed Houses' details her years in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.

“I am honored,” Fuller stated, “to be chosen for these awards from among so many good authors with valuable books.  And I am happy that right now, when horrors out of the Middle East dominate the headlines, I can offer readers a more human and hopeful view by sharing stories about ordinary people in Lebanon, that microcosm of the Middle East so critical to the world.”

In Lebanon, a country fragmented by war, the Fullers are house-hunting, because they have a job to do — publishing Christian literature in the Arabic language. The house they find is mostly a heap of rocks, Frances thinks, but Wayne has visions of turning it into a beautiful and comfortable home. Meanwhile the Syrian occupation, an Israeli invasion, the bombing of the American Marines, artillery battles, car bombs and kidnappings impact their lives.

Told in short episodes, Fuller’s book reveals the alienation, confusion and courage of civilians in civil war, introducing to the reader a variety of real people with whom the author interacts: editors, salesmen, neighbors, refugees, soldiers, missionaries, lawyers, shepherds, artists, students. With these people she works, studies, plays games, prays, laughs and cries, all to the accompaniment of gunfire. Together these small stories tell what war is like for civilians caught on a battlefield, and they create the impression of the Lebanese as a fun-loving, witty, patient and resilient people. They also compose, not a political history, but a historical document of a time and a place.

Critics have praised  ‘In Borrowed Houses.’ A judge in the 22nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards called 'In Borrowed Houses' “…a well written book full of compassion…a captivating story…”. Another reviewer described the book as “Wise, honest, sensitive, funny, heart-wrenching…”. Colin Chapman, lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut said, “….western Christians and Middle Eastern Christians need to read this story…full of remarkable perceptiveness and genuine hope.”

Frances Fuller is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at frances0516@att.net. Fuller's book is available at Amazon and other book retailers. More information is available at her website at http://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com.

About Frances Fuller:

Frances Fuller spent thirty years in the violent Middle East and for twenty-four of those years was the director of a Christian publishing program with offices in Lebanon. While leading the development of spiritual books in the Arabic language, she survived long years of civil war and invasions.

Frances holds degrees in Journalism, Creative Writing and Religious Education, and she studied Arabic at Georgetown University. She and her husband, James Wayne Fuller, live now in the foothills of the Sierras in California. They have five children, ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Contact:

Frances Fuller
http://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com
frances0516@att.net

Leia Mais…