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The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir
by Kao Kalia YangIn search of a place to call home, thousands of Hmong families made the journey from the war-torn jungles of Laos to the overcrowded refugee camps of Thailand and onward to America. But lacking a written language of their own, the Hmong experience has been primarily recorded by others. Driven to tell her family's story after her grandmother's death, The Latehomecomer is Kao Kalia Yang's tribute to the remarkable woman whose spirit held them all together. It is also an eloquent, firsthand account of a people who have worked hard to make their voices heard. Beginning in the 1970s, as the Hmong were being massacred for their collaboration with the United States during the Vietnam War, Yang recounts the harrowing story of her family's captivity, the daring rescue undertaken by her father and uncles, and their narrow escape into Thailand where Yang was born in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. When she was six years old, Yang's family immigrated to America, and she evocatively captures the challenges of adapting to a new place and a new language. Through her words, the dreams, wisdom, and traditions passed down from her grandmother and shared by an entire community have finally found a voice. Together with her sister, Kao Kalia Yang is the founder of a company dedicated to helping immigrants with writing, translating, and business services. A graduate of Carleton College and Columbia University, Yang has recently screened The Place Where We Were Born, a film documenting the experiences of Hmong American refugees. Visit her website at www. kaokaliayang. com.
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir (The Golden Greek)
by Kao Kalia YangThe “unforgettable” true story of a family’s journey from the jungles of Laos to a Thailand refugee camp—and finally, to America (Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down). Kao Kalia Yang was born in 1980 a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand. Her people had fought alongside the Americans in the Vietnam War, but in the tumult that followed, they spent years without a real home. Though her grandmother was reluctant to journey even farther from her birthplace than they already had, the family convinced her that America was their best option. Landing first in California, they eventually settled in St. Paul, Minnesota. Like so many other immigrants, the adults worked long hours, sacrificing in order to give their children opportunities to succeed and reflect well on their community. But the Hmong faced unique challenges, coming from a rain forest as a little-known ethnic group that did not have a written language of its own. Yet, Yang would eventually grow up to write this memoir.
Later: My Life at the Edge of The World
by Paul LisickyA stunning portrait of community, identity, and sexuality by the critically acclaimed author of The Narrow Door <p><p> When Paul Lisicky arrived in Provincetown in the early 1990s, he was leaving behind a history of family trauma to live in a place outside of time, known for its values of inclusion, acceptance, and art. In this idyllic haven, Lisicky searches for love and connection and comes into his own as he finds a sense of belonging. At the same time, the center of this community is consumed by the AIDS crisis, and the very structure of town life is being rewired out of necessity: What might this utopia look like during a time of dystopia? <p><p> Later dramatizes a spectacular yet ravaged place and a unique era when more fully becoming one’s self collided with the realization that ongoingness couldn’t be taken for granted, and staying alive from moment to moment exacted absolute attention. Following the success of his acclaimed memoir, The Narrow Door, Lisicky fearlessly explores the body, queerness, love, illness, community, and belonging in this masterful, ingenious new book.
Later: My Life at the Edge of the World
by Paul LisickyA stunning portrait of community, identity, and sexuality by the critically acclaimed author of The Narrow DoorWhen Paul Lisicky arrived in Provincetown in the early 1990s, he was leaving behind a history of family trauma to live in a place outside of time, known for its values of inclusion, acceptance, and art. In this idyllic haven, Lisicky searches for love and connection and comes into his own as he finds a sense of belonging. At the same time, the center of this community is consumed by the AIDS crisis, and the very structure of town life is being rewired out of necessity: What might this utopia look like during a time of dystopia? Later dramatizes a spectacular yet ravaged place and a unique era when more fully becoming one’s self collided with the realization that ongoingness couldn’t be taken for granted, and staying alive from moment to moment exacted absolute attention. Following the success of his acclaimed memoir, The Narrow Door, Lisicky fearlessly explores the body, queerness, love, illness, community, and belonging in this masterful, ingenious new book.
The Later Diaries of Ned Rorem, 1961–1972: 1961-1972
by Ned RoremThe esteemed American composer and unabashed diarist Ned Rorem provides a fascinating, brazenly intimate first-person account of his life and career during one of the most extraordinary decades of the twentieth century Ned Rorem is often considered an American treasure, one of the greatest contemporary composers in the US. In 1966, he revealed another side of his remarkable talent when The Paris Diary was published, and a year later, The New York Diary, both to wide critical acclaim. In The Later Diaries,Rorem continues to explore his world and his music in intimate journal form, covering the years 1961 to 1972, one of his most artistically productive decades. The Ned Rorem revealed in The Later Diaries is somewhat more mature and worldly than the young artist of the earlier works, but no less candid or daring, as he reflects on his astonishing life, loves, friendships, and rivalries during an epoch of staggering, sometimes volatile change. Writing with intelligence, insight, and honesty, he recalls time spent with some of the most famous, and infamous, artists of the era—Philip Roth, Christopher Isherwood, Tallulah Bankhead, and Edward Albee, among others—openly exploring his sexuality and his art while offering fascinating, sometimes blistering, views on the art of his contemporaries.
The Later Letters of John Stuart Mill 1849-1873: Volumes XIV-XVII
by Dwight Lindley Francis Mineka John Stuart MillThe Earlier Letters of John Stuart Mill, published in two volumes in 1963, were well received by critics and scholars alike. The publication of these four volumes of later letters completes this edition of Mill's personal correspondence. These volumes contain over 1,800 letters, most never before published, and some sixty earlier letters that have come to light since the publication of the first two volumes of correspondence. The letters have been assembled from widely dispersed collections in the libraries of fifty-eight institutions and of some thirty private collections in Britain and in other countries of the Commonwealth, Europe, and North America. In addition, many personal letters of which no originals survived have been located in contemporary periodicals or biographies of Mill's correspondence.
Latest Readings
by Clive James&“[A] collection of Clive James&’s essays on a variety of literary topics . . . This is sanity, humor and acuity in the face of death&” (The Wall Street Journal). In 2010, Clive James was diagnosed with terminal leukemia. Deciding that &“if you don&’t know the exact moment when the lights will go out, you might as well read until they do,&” James moved his library to his Cambridge house, where he would &“live, read, and perhaps even write.&” James is the award-winning author of dozens of works of literary criticism, poetry, and history, and this volume contains his reflections on what may well be his last reading list. A look at some of James&’s old favorites as well as some of his recent discoveries, this book also offers a revealing look at the author himself, sharing his evocative musings on literature and family, and on living and dying. As thoughtful and erudite as the works of Alberto Manguel, and as moving and inspiring as Randy Pausch&’s The Last Lecture and Will Schwalbe&’s The End of Your Life Book Club, this valediction to James&’s lifelong engagement with the written word is a captivating valentine from one of the great literary minds of our time. &“These essays and poems are death-haunted but radiant with the felt experience of what it means to be alive, even when mortally sick, especially when mortally sick.&” —Financial Times &“Latest Readings is a plain demonstration that Mr. James remains as learned and as funny as any critic on earth.&” —The New York Times
Latin America Diaries: The Sequel to The Motorcycle Diaries (The Che Guevara Library)
by Ernesto Che GuevaraThe sequel to The Motorcycle Diaries, this book is Ernesto Che Guevera's journal documenting the young Argentine's second trip through Latin America, revealing the emergence of a committed revolutionary.These letters, poetry, and journalism document young Ernesto Guevara's second Latin American journey following his graduation from medical school in 1953. Together, these writings reveal how the young Argentine is transformed into a militant revolutionary.After traveling through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Central America, Ernesto witnesses the 1954 US-inspired coup in Guatemala, which has a profound effect on his political awareness. He flees to Mexico where he encounters Fidel Castro, marking the beginning of a political partnership that profoundly changes the world and Che himself. Includes a foreword by Alberto Granado, Che's companion on his first adventures in Latin America on a vintage Norton motorcycle, and features poems written by young Ernesto inspired by his experiences along with facsimiles of pages from his diary.
Latin America Diaries
by Ernesto Che Guevara"A wonderful glimpse into the maturing mind of a great man and a vital companion to the previous Che diaries."-Michael McCaughan, The Irish Times"Guevara . . . chronicles labor uprisings and resistance against the influences and interests of the US and its intelligence operations. Guevara's passions for history, archaeology, and science are also apparent in this absorbing glimpse of the development of a legendary revolutionary figure."-Vanessa Bush, Booklist"This second volume of travel diaries by revolutionary icon Guevara (after Motorcycle Diaries) shows the 25-year-old rebel wandering around South America in the latter half of 1953."-Publishers WeeklyThis sequel to The Motorcycle Diaries includes letters, poetry, and journalism that document Ernesto Che Guevara's second Latin American journey following his graduation from medical school. After traveling through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Central America, Ernesto witnesses the 1954 US-inspired coup in Guatemala. He flees to Mexico where he encounters Fidel Castro, marking the beginning of a political partnership that profoundly changes the world and Che himself.This new, expanded edition has been fully revised especially for Ocean Press by Che's widow Aleida March, meticulously correcting her own work of checking Che's handwriting. Includes thirty-two pages of unpublished photos, including photos taken by Che's son Ernesto as he retraces his father's footsteps. Features a prologue by Alberto Granado, Che's traveling companion in The Motorcycle Diaries.
El Latin Hit Maker
by Rudy PérezPor primera vez, Rudy Pérez, leyenda de música, comparte su extraordinario proceso desde un pobre niño refugiado en Miami hasta la composición de las mejores canciones de éxito en el escenario mundial. Nombrado el compositor latino más exitoso de la historia, Rudy Pérez es el creador de algunos de los discos más vendidos de Beyoncé, Julio Iglesias, Christina Aguilera e Il Divo.En sus exclusivas memorias, Rudy cuenta sobre su infancia en Cuba y las apasionantes visitas a su padre en la cárcel durante el apogeo de la revolución comunista. Al mirar atrás al peligroso escape de su familia en uno de los últimos vuelos de la libertad a los Estados Unidos, Rudy nos cuenta sobre los años de pobreza y lo que es crecer en un vecindario asolado por el crimen. Estos recuerdos contrastan con los tiernos momentos de baile con sus hermanos junto la banda de música, escuchando los clásicos favoritos de su madre y balanceándose con melodías de blues junto a su padre. A una temprana edad, Rudy intentó recrear la música que amaba, y su talento lo llevó a una carrera sin precedentes con más de trescientas canciones exitosas.Con años de arduo trabajo, creatividad incesante y una fuerte fe, Rudy fue el primer artista de música latina en ganar el Premio Billboard Producer of the Decade. Repasando su legado ganador de cinco Premios Grammy, él comparte historias de fe poco conocidas y anécdotas de su trabajo con estrellas como Fergie, Jaci Velasquez, Michael Bolton, Simon Cowell y Sam Moore.El Latin Hit Maker es una lectura obligada para todos los amantes de la música, una historia genuina del paso de la pobreza a la riqueza, llena de inspiración, detalles fascinantes y un poderoso recordatorio de la gracia de Dios y la creatividad transformadora.
The Latin Hit Maker: My Journey from Cuban Refugee to World-Renowned Record Producer and Songwriter
by Rudy Pérez Robert NolandFor the first time, music legend Rudy Pérez shares his remarkable journey from a poor refugee kid in Miami to composing the greatest hit songs on the world stage. Named the most successful Latin songwriter in history, Rudy Pérez is the creator behind some of the bestselling records of Beyoncé, Julio Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, and IL Divo.In his one-of-a-kind memoir, Rudy tells about his childhood in Cuba and the heart-gripping visits to his father in prison during the height of the communist revolution. Tracing his family's perilous escape on one of the last Freedom Flights to America, Rudy opens up about the years of poverty and growing up in a crime-ridden neighborhood. These memories contrast with tender moments of dancing to the stereo with his siblings, nodding along to his mother's classical favorites, and swaying to blues melodies with his father. At a young age, Rudy tried his hand at recreating the music he loved, and his talent led him to an unprecedented career with over 300 hit songs.With years of hard work, ceaseless creativity, and a strong faith, Rudy was the first Latin music artist to win Billboard Producer of the Decade. Looking back over his five-time Grammy winning legacy, Rudy shares little-known stories of faith and behind-the-scenes details of working with stars like Fergie, Jaci Velasquez, Michael Bolton, Simon Cowell, and Sam Moore.A must-read for every music lover, The Latin Hit Maker is a genuine rags-to-riches story filled with inspiration, fascinating details, and a powerful reminder of God's grace and transforming creativity.
Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers
by Juliet MenéndezDream big with the Latinitas in Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers.Discover how 40 influential Latinas became the women we celebrate today! In this collection of short biographies from all over Latin America and across the United States, Juliet Menéndez explores the first small steps that set the Latinitas off on their journeys. With gorgeous, hand-painted illustrations, Menéndez shines a spotlight on the power of childhood dreams.From Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to singer Selena Quintanilla to NASA’s first virtual reality engineer, Evelyn Miralles, this is a book for aspiring artists, scientists, activists, and more. These women followed their dreams—and just might encourage you to follow yours!The book features Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Juana Azurduy de Padilla, Policarpa Salavarrieta, Rosa Peña de González, Teresa Carreño, Zelia Nuttall, Antonia Navarro, Matilde Hidalgo, Gabriela Mistral, Juana de Ibarbourou, Pura Belpré, Gumercinda Páez, Frida Kahlo, Julia de Burgos, Chavela Vargas, Alicia Alonso, Victoria Santa Cruz, Claribel Alegría, Celia Cruz, Dolores Huerta, Rita Moreno, Maria Auxiliadora da Silva, Mercedes Sosa, Isabel Allende, Susana Torre, Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, Sonia Sotomayor, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Mercedes Doretti, Sonia Pierre, Justa Canaviri, Evelyn Miralles, Selena Quintanilla, Berta Cáceres, Serena Auñón, Wanda Díaz-Merced, Marta Vieira da Silva, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Laurie Hernandez.Godwin Books
Latinitas (Spanish edition): Una celebración de 40 soñadoras audaces
by Juliet MenéndezDescubre cómo cuarenta latinas influyentes se convirtieron en las mujeres que hoy celebramos. En esta colección de biografías cortas de personajes de toda América Latina y de Estados Unidos, Juliet Menéndez explora los primeros pasitos con los que estas latinitas iniciaron su camino. Con hermosas ilustraciones, hechas a mano, Menéndez pone en relieve el poder que tienen los sueños de la infancia.Desde la jueza de la Corte Suprema Sonia Sotomayor hasta la cantante Selena Quintanilla y la primera ingeniera de realidad virtual de la NASA, Evelyn Miralles, este libro aborda figuras que servirán de inspiración a futuras artistas, científicas, activistas y más. Ellas hicieron realidad sus sueños ¡y hasta puede que te alienten a alcanzar los tuyos!
Latino Athletes
by Ian C. FriedmanA book about 175 Latinos who have made significant accomplishments in athletics in the U.S. and the world.
Latino Representation in State Houses and Congress
by Jason P. CasellasThis book argues that Latino representation in U. S. legislative institutions is shaped not only by demographics but by legislative institutional design, as well as elite-driven methods, features of the electoral system, and the increasing mainstreaming of Latinos in American society. The election of Latino legislators in the United States is thus complex and varied. This book provides evidence on how successful Latinos have been in winning state legislative and congressional districts in which they have no natural advantage. In particular, this book demonstrates that Latino candidates benefit from higher percentages of Latino citizens in the state, more liberal citizenries, and citizen legislatures. Jason Casellas argues that the legislatures most conducive to the election of Latino candidates are Florida, New Mexico, and California, whereas the least conducive are the U. S. House and New York.
Latino USA: A Cartoon History
by Ilan StavansLatino USA represents the culmination of Ilan Stavans's lifelong determination to meet the challenges of capturing the joys, nuances, and multiple dimensions of Latino culture within the context of the English language. In this cartoon history of Latinos, Stavans seeks to combine the solemnity of so-called "serious literature" and history with the inherently theatrical and humorous nature of the comics. The range of topics includes Columbus, Manifest Destiny, the Alamo, William Carlos Williams, Desi Arnaz, West Side Story, Castro, Guevera, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Neruda, GarcÃMáuez, the Mariel Boatlift, and Selena. Stavans represents Hispanic civilization as a fiesta of types, archetypes, and stereotypes. These "clichéigurines" include a toucan (displayed regularly in books by GarcÃMáuez, Allende, and others), the beloved Latino comedian Cantinflas (known as "the Hispanic Charlie Chaplin"), a masked wrestler, and Captain America. These multiple, at times contradictory voices, each narrating various episodes of Latino history from a unique perspective, combine to create a carnivalesque rhythm, democratic and impartial. For, as Stavans states, "History, of course, is a kaleidoscope where nothing is absolute." Latino USA, like the history it so entertainingly relates, is a dazzling kaleidoscope of irreverence, wit, subversion, anarchy, politics, humanism, celebration, and serious and responsible history.
Latino Visions: Contemporary Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American Artists
by James D. CockcroftThe vibrancy and passion of contemporary Latino artists in the United States are celebrated in this book from award-winning writer James D. Cockcroft. Discover the context--political and social--in which their work has been created. Describes the evolution of Latino art in America through discussion of various artistic movements and important Latino artists.
Latinos: A Biography of the People
by Earl ShorrisEarl Shorris's deeply moving narrative enlivened by biographical sketches of Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, and many others struggling with the burden of a rich and terrible history illuminates every aspect of the Latino experience in America, from language to education to social and political organization.
Latinx: En busca de las voces que redefinen la identidad latina
by Paola RamosEl primer paso hacia el cambio es reconocer que nuestro poder nace de nuestra identidad. Los jóvenes latinos en los Estados Unidos están redefiniendo su identidad, rompiendo moldes establecidos, y despertando políticamente de maneras sorprendentes y poderosas. Muchos de ellos—afrolatinos, indígenas, musulmanes, queer e indocumentados tanto en zonas urbanas como rurales—representan voces históricamente ignoradas en el modo en que la diversa población de casi seis millones de latinos en los Estados Unidos ha sido representada. Hasta ahora. En esta inspiradora crónica de viaje de costa a costa, la periodista y activista Paola Ramos emprende una búsqueda de los individuos y comunidades que dan vida a un nuevo movimiento que esta definiendo el término controversial &“Latinx&”. Ramos nos presenta a un grupo de indígenas originarios de Oaxaca que ha reinventado la calle mayor de un pueblo industrial en el estado de Nueva York, a las &“Las Poderosas&”, que luchan por los derechos reproductivos en Texas, a unos músicos en Milwaukee que con sus ritmos confortan a otros sobre sus raíces... A lo largo de este viaje encontraremos también a activistas ambientales, trabajadores de campo, drag queens, e inmigrantes detenidos en la frontera. A partir de su trabajo periodístico sobre el terreno, así como de su historia personal, Ramos ilustra como el término &“Latinx&” ha dado paso a un sentimiento de pertenencia y solidaridad sin precedentes entre los latinos de este país. Relevante e inspirador, Latinx nos invita a expandir nuestra conciencia de lo que significa ser latino y ser estadounidense, y como ambas identidades conviven dentro y fuera de esta comunidad.
The Latter Days: A Memoir
by Judith FreemanAn arresting, lyrical memoir about the path the author took--sometimes unwittingly--out of her Mormon upbringing and through a thicket of profound difficulties to become a writer. At twenty-two, Judith Freeman was working in the Mormon church-owned department store in the Utah town where she'd grown up. In the process of divorcing the man she had married at seventeen, she was living in her parents' house with her four-year-old son, who had already endured two heart surgeries. She had abandoned Mormonism, the faith into which she had been born, and she was having an affair with her son's surgeon, a married man with three children of his own. It was at this fraught moment that she decided to become a writer. In this moving memoir, Freeman explores the circumstances and choices that informed her course, and those that allowed her to find a way forward. Writing with remarkable candor and insight, she gives us an illuminating, singular portrait of resilience and forgiveness, of memory and hindsight, and of the ways in which we come to identify our truest selves.(With black-and-white photographs throughout.)From the Hardcover edition.
The Latter Days at Colditz
by Major P ReidIn THE COLDITZ STORY, Pat Reid told the story of the escape academythat sprang up inside the most impregnable German POW camp of the Second World War, ending appropriately with his own incredible escape from Colditz. But Reid's own break-out was by no means the last. In this enthralling sequel, he follows the fortunes of the escape academy right up until the arrival of the allied forces in April 1945. These tales of fantastic bravery and stunning ingenuity are every bit as mesmerising as the original.A true classic, LATTER DAYS AT COLDITZ is the bestselling conclusion to the story of the infamous German P.O.W. camp.
The Latter Days at Colditz
by Major R ReidIn THE COLDITZ STORY, Pat Reid told the story of the escape academythat sprang up inside the most impregnable German POW camp of the Second World War, ending appropriately with his own incredible escape from Colditz. But Reid's own break-out was by no means the last. In this enthralling sequel, he follows the fortunes of the escape academy right up until the arrival of the allied forces in April 1945. These tales of fantastic bravery and stunning ingenuity are every bit as mesmerising as the original.A true classic, LATTER DAYS AT COLDITZ is the bestselling conclusion to the story of the infamous German P.O.W. camp.
Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier
by Alan ZweibelWith his tender, funny memoir of four decades in the business, one of the first writers for Saturday Night Live traces the history of American comedy. Alan Zweibel started his comedy career selling jokes for seven dollars apiece to the last of the Borscht Belt standups. Then one night, despite bombing on stage, he caught the attention of Lorne Michaels and became one of the first writers at Saturday Night Live, where he penned classic material for Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and all of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players. From SNL, he went on to have a hand in a series of landmark shows—from It’s Garry Shandling’s Show to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Throughout the pages of Laugh Lines Zweibel weaves together his own stories and interviews with his friends and contemporaries, including Richard Lewis, Eric Idle, Bob Saget, Mike Birbiglia, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Dave Barry, Carl Reiner, and more. The book also features a charming foreword from his friend of forty-five years Billy Crystal, with whom he co-wrote and co-produced the upcoming film Here Today that stars Crystal and Tiffany Haddish. Laugh Lines is a warmhearted cultural memoir of American comedy.“In Laugh Lines, Zweibel looks back, affectionately and informatively, at a career that began when he was a young deli worker grinding out jokes for old-school borscht belt comedians in his spare time, and that, after his “S.N.L.” years, included rewarding collaborations with, among others, Garry Shandling, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Larry David and Dave Barry. . . . Fascinating.” —New York Times“Any comedy fan will thrill to see the contemporary art's invention through the eyes of consummate funny man Alan Zweibel. He takes you behind the velvet rope and makes you weep for all those artists who made us laugh. Screamingly funny—also very moving. A classic.” —Mary Karr“Alan Zweibel is legendary among us comedians. He is the man who delivers comedy with an emotional clout that makes him respected and revered.” —Steve Martin
Laugh, You Buggers, Laugh: Selected poems (1967-1979) and the life and times that inspired them
by Nigel GrayLaugh, You Buggers, Laugh is no ordinary collection of poems. Nigel Gray led an extraordinary life in extraordinary times. He was a political activist and performance poet in the UK during the days of rage and hope, flower power and free love, radical social change and political upheaval that typified the 1960s and 70s. He travelled on political forays to Southeast Asia, Africa, Ireland, and mainland Europe. This is a selection of poems from that time set in a context that explains the situations and experiences that inspired them. Nigel Gray, an Irish-born West Australian, is the multi-award-winning author of a hundred published books for adults and children.
Laughing All the Way to the Mosque: The Misadventures of a Muslim Woman
by Zarqa NawazBeing a practicing Muslim in the West is sometimes challenging, sometimes rewarding and sometimes downright absurd. How do you explain why Eid never falls on the same date each year; why it is that Halal butchers also sell teapots and alarm clocks; how do you make clear to the plumber that it's essential the toilet is installed within sitting-arm's reach of the tap? Zarqa Nawaz has seen and done it all. And it's not always easy to get things right with the community either: Zarqa tells of being asked to leave the DBW (Dead Body Washing) committee after making unsuitable remarks; of undertaking the momentous trip to Mecca with her husband, without the children, thinking (most incorrectly) that it will also be a nice time to have uninterrupted sex; of doing the unthinkable, and creating Little Mosque on the Prairie, a successful TV sitcom about that very (horrified, then proud) community. You have to laugh.