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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Can You Open My Eyes? by Qusay Salih Hussein Al-Mamari is a memoir of Hussein's migration to the USA as a blind Iraqi refugee, unable to rely on sight, and unsure of the language or routines that shape daily life there. Hussein learns each setting by stepping into it without a map, whether it's an airport corridor, a room, or an office where officials study his documents. He also turns to the life that shaped him long before resettlement: his village, the work he once carried out with confidence, the explosion that altered him, and the long recovery that followed. Hussein presents each moment from inside the experience, and as a continuous effort to make sense of his surroundings and to build a future without forgetting his past.
Can You Open My Eyes? by Qusay Salih Hussein Al-Mamari and Monica Sakura Urso stands out for the way it highlights the author’s initiative at moments when most people would freeze. The scenes that involve his father locating him after the blast, his siblings gathering around him during difficult treatments, and his mother pushing for his chance to travel show a family that remains present in every stage of his journey. His account of teaching a withdrawn hospital roommate in Jordan how to play dominoes shows how he redirects his own pain into connection, while his patient effort to master a microwave in his Austin apartment illustrates the steady self-reliance that shapes the book. The writing shines when describing his willingness to repair generators in Hatra using only touch and memory, and when showing how he organized outings for other patients long before he had stability of his own. Overall, a solid and interesting real-life account of a migrant's journey.
