Frances Fuller, Author Of Book About Lebanon, 'In Borrowed Houses', Issues Open Letter To Jimmy Carter

    WILMINGTON, NC, August 28, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Frances Fuller, author of 'In Borrowed Houses', a memoir that details her time in Lebanon during the Civil War, has issued an open letter to President Jimmy Carter. In that letter she states in part:

Thank you for your years of work in the cause of peace and justice in the Middle East, especially for your book Peace Not Apartheid.

Many people (and I am one) admire you for your courage, your Christian attitudes and your willingness to speak the truth.

I know that you have given up on a two-state solution, because I read the article about you in the British magazine Prospect after seeing it quoted by Juan Cole in Truthdig. I forgive you for this loss of hope. All realistic people can see that the West Bank is disappearing as a country for the Palestinians, becoming a little more each day covered with Israeli "settlements" (cities), just as Ariel Sharon predicted in 1973.

However, there are people who have not given up, and the struggle will go on. Three months ago I met a Jewish university student who intends to spend his life in this cause. He is just an example of the wise and courageous Jews who are joining with Palestinians in the hope of their living together as equals. Just three days ago an Israeli citizen named Bradley Burston wrote an essay admitting with regret that Israel is an apartheid state and giving numerous reasons why the label fits. The article was published in Haaretz. And even American Christians with their natural partiality toward the Jews are seeing that the Palestinians are an oppressed people.

These three kinds of people are working through numerous organizations with goals for positive change. For example: Jewish Voice for Peace, B'tselem, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Churches for Peace in the Middle East, Foundation for Middle East Peace, If Americans Knew, Sabeel and Youth Against Settlements.

Such people, especially the Jews, are heroes in the making, honest and bold, like you, Mr. President, and there are more of them every year. They will change the world. Old people like you and me must trust them to build a fair future. They are the reason we should not die in despair. They, and our loving, righteous God give us hope.

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 [email protected]. Fuller's book is available at Amazon and other book retailers. A free ebook sample from 'In Borrowed Houses' is available at http://www.payhip.com/francesfuller. More information is available at her website at http://www.inborrowedhouseslebanon.com.

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.

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