I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir

Darren, Gharib’s partner, is a white man originally from Nashville, Tennessee. He is tender-hearted, friendly, expressive, and dapper. Gharib teaches him about Filipino and Egyptian food, cultural etiquette, and language. From Darren, Gharib learns that white culture has regional differences, especially Darren’s southern “quirks.” She notices similarities between their cultures, like devotion to religion, generosity, and humor.

After dating for a few years, Darren proposes and Gharib accepts. She had kept her relationship with Darren secret from her father, who is upset and believes that God will punish him for not helping her marry a Muslim man. He asks Darren if he would consider converting to Islam. Darren thanks him for the suggestion, which is enough to receive her father’s blessing.

Their “big, fat, Filipino-Egyptian-American Southern Baptist-Muslim wedding” is officiated by Darren’s grandfather, a pastor, who makes a ceremony script using the Bible and Koran (139). Their wedding activities represent both aspects of Gharib’s culture. Both of her parents walk her down the aisle.

Gharib and Darren want to prioritize keeping their cultures alive. Gharib grows aware of the customs she has lost and ignored. She also acutely feels the parts of her cultures she’s kept when they clash with Darren’s, like when she wants to travel home for every birthday or send money to her younger cousins in Egypt.