Overview

A Country Called Brooklyn: Blood Feuds, Family Honor & My Sister's Murder A gripping memoir about honor, family loyalty, and the search for truth after a brutal murder. Growing up in 1970s Brooklyn under 500-year-old Albanian honor codes, Hane believed in fate, female submission, and God's plan. Her world seemed perfect-until her favorite sister, Jariyeh, was murdered by her husband. Suddenly nothing made sense. Why had God allowed it? Why did her brother set out for revenge? But good girls didn't question. They obeyed. Thirty years later, Hane finds the courage to investigate the murder-risking disgrace to her family name. Was it an honor killing, as the husband later told Jariyeh's children? Or had drug dealers forced his hand, as her family believed? Drawing on court transcripts, witness accounts, family interviews, and the ancient Honor Codes of Lekë Dukagjini, Hane uncovers a truth far more complicated than she expected. The deeper she goes into her sister's life, the more she is forced to confront the beliefs that shaped her own. Blending family memoir with true crime, A Country Called Brooklyn is one woman's determination to uncover the truth about her sister's murder-and the courage it takes to challenge tradition.

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9781971423005

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Reviews

Editing A Kirkus Reviews ""A well-crafted memoir about loss, memory, and fighting back against oppressive traditions."" ""Selmani's prose provides the perfect companion through the domestic tumult... skillfully reconstructing realistic dialogue that grounds the action in its setting."" ""Above all, a story of the ways that men subjugate women, woven deftly into an account of the author's quest for truth."" Verdict: GET IT Clarion Reviews - ★★★★☆ ""A gripping account of an interfamily blood feud that runs alongside critiques of a patriarchal culture..."" ""A captivating and harrowing memoir..."" ""A captivating and harrowing memoir... about how Albanian honor and tradition led to an American tragedy and personal emergence."" - Meg Nola IndieReader - 4.8 Stars ""Destined to be a widely read book about justice and love."" ""A beautifully written blend of family memoir, true crime, cultural history..."" ""Filled with cultural and personal insights... this book is very much about love and compassion."" - Allison Barilone BookLife - A Rating ""Selmani sets out to honor her sister Jariyeh's legacy in this powerful memoir..."" ""Rather than turning family members into villains, she shows how people are shaped by their surroundings..."" A Country Called Brooklyn becomes not just an account of one killing, but a thoughtful exploration of how ordinary people inherit systems they did not build. Production Grades: Design A Marketing Copy A

Author Information

Hane Selmani was born in Kosova and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where she was taught that becoming a proper Nuse-wife mattered more than self-expression. Writing was not encouraged; obedience was.Decades after her sister's murder, Selmani returned to the past through court transcripts, family interviews, and memory. Her desire to be her sister's voice gave her the courage to question the beliefs she was raised with-and to stand up for herself.Her work explores what it costs to choose truth over tradition. A Country Called Brooklyn: Blood Feuds, Family Honor & My Sister's Murder is the first book in her memoir series.

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