Author Talk with Palestinian-American Playwright and Author Betty Shamieh

Please join the Arab American Cultural Center for an evening of fiction filled with lively discussion, humor, and book reading with Betty Shamieh, Palestinian-American award-winning playwright and author and Grace Redman, Palestinian-American entrepreneur, executive coach, speaker, author, and podcast host.

Betty recently launch her debut novel, Too Soon, an important book for Palestinians—and for broader audiences—because it explores Palestinian identity, trauma, resistance, and diaspora through a deeply personal and artistic lens. Too Soon is an exploration of the lives of three generations of Palestinian Women.

Too Soon amplifies Palestinian Voices, centering Palestinian characters in Western literature, where they are often marginalized or misrepresented. By doing this, Betty contributes to a growing body of work that insists on Palestinian presence and complexity in global conversations.

Too Soon delves into how trauma—especially from war, displacement, and occupation—passes down through generations. For Palestinians, this resonates deeply as many live in exile or under occupation, carrying the psychological weight of their people's ongoing struggle. This novel allows for a more humanizing and nuanced portrayal of Palestinians—not just as victims or political symbols, but as individuals with full emotional and intellectual lives.

Many Palestinians live outside of Palestine, in the diaspora, and Too Soon gives voice to that experience—how it feels to grow up with an inherited identity shaped by both belonging and displacement. This dual perspective can foster empathy and understanding between generations and across cultural divides. Too Soon contributes to the cultural and political movement of telling untold or suppressed histories, reminding readers that art is a powerful form of political engagement.