It provides a compelling portrait of the late King Hussein and his lifelong effort to bring peace to his wartorn region, and an insider's view of the growing gulf between the United States and the Arab nations. It is the story of a young American woman who became wife and partner to an Arab monarch. This mission would reap satisfying rewards, including greater Arab unity and a peace treaty with Israel, and suffer such terrible setbacks as the Gulf War and the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. Meshing the demands of motherhood with the commitments of her position often proved difficult, but she tried to keep her young children by her side, even while flying the world with her husband in his relentless quest for peace. After a heartbreaking miscarriage, she gave birth to four children. As she gradually took on the mantle of a queen, Noor's joys and challenges grew. With eloquence and candor, Queen Noor speaks of the obstacles she faced as a naive young bride in the royal court, of rebelling against the smothering embrace of security guards and palace life, and of her own successful struggle to create a working role as a humanitarian activist In a court that simply expected Noor to keep her husband happy. After a whirlwind, secret courtship Lisa Halaby became Noor Al Hussein, Queen of Jordan. The next time they met, Hussein would fall headlong in love with the athletic, outspoken daughter of his longtime friend. Widely admired in the Arab world as a voice of moderation, and for his direct lineage to the prophet Muhammad, Hussein would soon become the world's most eligible bachelor after the tragic death of his wife. Two years later, while visiting her father in Jordan, she was casually introduced on the airport runway to King Hussein. Leap of Faith is the dramatic and inspiring story of an American woman's remarkable journey into the heart of a man and his nation.īorn into a distinguished Arab-American family and raised amid privilege, Lisa Halaby joined the first freshman class at Princeton to accept women, graduating in 1974 with a degree in architecture and urban planning.

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