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An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice

by Khizr Khan

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1428203,936 (4.37)11
Biography & Autobiography. Family & Relationships. Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML:This inspiring memoir by the Muslim American Gold Star father and captivating DNC speaker is the story of one family’s pursuit of the American dream.
NAMED ONE OF THE FIVE BEST MEMOIRS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
 
“Moving . . . a story about family and faith, told with a poet’s sensibility . . . Khizr Khan’s book can teach all of us what real American patriotism looks like.” —The New York Times Book Review
In fewer than three hundred words, Khizr Khan electrified viewers around the world when he took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. And when he offered to lend Donald Trump his own much-read and dog-eared pocket Constitution, his gesture perfectly encapsulated the feelings of millions. But who was that man, standing beside his wife, extolling the promises and virtues of the U.S. Constitution?
In this urgent and timeless immigrant story, we learn that Khizr Khan has been many things. He was the oldest of ten children born to farmers in Pakistan, and a curious and thoughtful boy who listened rapt as his grandfather recited Rumi beneath the moonlight. He was a university student who read the Declaration of Independence and was awestruck by what might be possible in life. He was a hopeful suitor, awkwardly but earnestly trying to win the heart of a woman far out of his league. He was a brilliant and diligent young family man who worked two jobs to save enough money to put himself through Harvard Law School. He was a loving father who, having instilled in his children the ideals that brought him and his wife to America—the sense of shared dignity and mutual responsibility—tragically lost his son, an Army captain killed while protecting his base camp in Iraq. He was and is a patriot, and a fierce advocate for the rights, dignities, and values enshrined in the American system.
An American Family shows us who Khizr Khan and millions of other American immigrants are, and why—especially in these tumultuous times—we must not be afraid to step forward for what we believe in when it matters most.
Praise for An American Family
An American Family is a small but lovely immigrant’s journey, full of carefully observed details from the order in which Ghazala served tea at a university event, to the schedule of the police patrols in the Boston Public Garden where Khan briefly slept while he was in between apartments, to the description of Humayun’s headstone as a ‘slab of white marble with soft streaks the color of wood smoke.’”—Alyssa Rosenberg, The Washington Post.
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» See also 11 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
Khizr Khan became famous for his speech at the 2016 Democratic Convention, when he conveyed a message about democracy and sacrifice that cause a media firestorm. This memoir fills in more about Khan's life and his family, and it can be incredibly heartening to read about how American values resonate with those from distant cultures. Khan recounts how he came to the United States, how he met and first interacted with Americans, came to understand American values, and how he and his wife strove to instill those values in their children. And finally, Khan shares how he learned of the death of his son while serving in the US military and how he came to give his notable speech at a political convention. It made for a more compelling read than I had anticipated and my heart goes out to the Khan family. ( )
  wagner.sarah35 | Jun 29, 2023 |
A well-written immigrant story. Great exploration of what it means to be a patriotic American.

Favorite quote: “So what if you are thirsty? Always be a river for everyone.” ( )
  CarolHicksCase | Mar 12, 2023 |
Excellent.
  Elizabeth80 | Jul 18, 2021 |
An American Family:A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice🍒🍒🍒🍒🍌
By Khizr Khan
2017

Khizr Khan, the DNC speaker and his wife, Ghazal are Gold Star parents, who lost their son US Army Captain, Humayun,in 2004 during the Iraq War. This amazing memoir of a man whose dream and promise of a new life, far from the poverty and violence of Pakistan, where he was a farmer. Khans rise from sleeping on park benches, to Harvard Law School, the sacrifices he made and the pride he felt becoming a US citizen and being able to give his family a better life.
Moving story. ...a reminder to us all what it really means to America great again.

Highly recommended. ..keep the tissues handy, this is a tearjerker.... ( )
  over.the.edge | Sep 16, 2018 |
This is sure to be one of my top books of the year. A deeply affecting account by Khizr Khan of his life and his family; it brought me to tears more than once, and it deserves a very wide audience indeed. ( )
  JBD1 | May 10, 2018 |
Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
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Biography & Autobiography. Family & Relationships. Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML:This inspiring memoir by the Muslim American Gold Star father and captivating DNC speaker is the story of one family’s pursuit of the American dream.
NAMED ONE OF THE FIVE BEST MEMOIRS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST
 
“Moving . . . a story about family and faith, told with a poet’s sensibility . . . Khizr Khan’s book can teach all of us what real American patriotism looks like.” —The New York Times Book Review
In fewer than three hundred words, Khizr Khan electrified viewers around the world when he took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. And when he offered to lend Donald Trump his own much-read and dog-eared pocket Constitution, his gesture perfectly encapsulated the feelings of millions. But who was that man, standing beside his wife, extolling the promises and virtues of the U.S. Constitution?
In this urgent and timeless immigrant story, we learn that Khizr Khan has been many things. He was the oldest of ten children born to farmers in Pakistan, and a curious and thoughtful boy who listened rapt as his grandfather recited Rumi beneath the moonlight. He was a university student who read the Declaration of Independence and was awestruck by what might be possible in life. He was a hopeful suitor, awkwardly but earnestly trying to win the heart of a woman far out of his league. He was a brilliant and diligent young family man who worked two jobs to save enough money to put himself through Harvard Law School. He was a loving father who, having instilled in his children the ideals that brought him and his wife to America—the sense of shared dignity and mutual responsibility—tragically lost his son, an Army captain killed while protecting his base camp in Iraq. He was and is a patriot, and a fierce advocate for the rights, dignities, and values enshrined in the American system.
An American Family shows us who Khizr Khan and millions of other American immigrants are, and why—especially in these tumultuous times—we must not be afraid to step forward for what we believe in when it matters most.
Praise for An American Family
An American Family is a small but lovely immigrant’s journey, full of carefully observed details from the order in which Ghazala served tea at a university event, to the schedule of the police patrols in the Boston Public Garden where Khan briefly slept while he was in between apartments, to the description of Humayun’s headstone as a ‘slab of white marble with soft streaks the color of wood smoke.’”—Alyssa Rosenberg, The Washington Post.

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