[Podcast] Faith, Motherhood, and the Call to Gaza | Dr. Samaiya Mushtaq

Dr. Samaiya Mushtaq’s book “A Beautiful Patience: A Memoir of Marriage, Motherhood, and a Mission to Gaza” pulls readers into the story of her husband, Dr. Mahmoud Sabha, who went to Gaza on multiple medical missions – and takes us along on her own journey, struggling with fear, guilt, motherhood, and more.

In this episode, Dr. Samaiya shares the behind-the-scenes of the book process, from what it took to process her husband’s experiences in Gaza from shared anecdotes to the page, to her own personal struggles being home, and what we can do to support the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the rest of Palestine.

When Samaiya Mushtaq’s husband considers joining a medical mission in Gaza, she must face the quiet terror of what it might cost them. As a physician, she understands his calling—but as a mother of two young children, she fears the unthinkable. What if he doesn’t come back? In the face of uncertainty, they choose faith over fear: Mahmoud will go to Gaza; Samaiya will hold their lives together at home.

In Gaza, Mahmoud removes shrapnel, helps amputate limbs, and finds a colony of maggots in a wound that isn’t healing properly. In Texas, Samaiya nurses their infant at night and spends her mornings wrangling their toddler before signing in to work, only to do it all again in the evening. Each night, Samaiya and Mahmoud connect through messages and calls. While he tells her about his patients and asks about the kids, she can hear air strikes in the background.

At once devastating and inspiring, A Beautiful Patience is a poignant memoir that explores our responsibility to our families and fellow humans, the power of trusting in God, and different ways to persist and resist against all odds.

Related:

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