Once Upon a Time in Beirut

"My first memories of Beirut are of a dynamic tangle of contradictions: ancient and contemporary, pre and post war, Muslim, Christian, East and West, secular and devout, eye popping wealth that rubbed against desperate poverty. In the middle of it all, the city drew its energy. Once upon a time, in Beirut, I found an unlikely place to call home".

Catherine Taylor and her husband (award-winning ABC Four Corners reporter Matthew Carney) moved to Beirut in early 2001 to work as foreign correspondents. It was the start of an era that would see some of the Middle East's most tumultuous events for a generation.

As Catherine journeyed through the region on assignment, Beirut emerged as unlikely haven. Everything about this formerly war-torn city enchanted her - from exploring its famous nightlife to her new home in an elegant Oriental apartment - and its reputation as a war zone faded to the sidelines.

Catherine soon fell in love with the Paris of the Middle East and became fascinated by the complexity of its people: their exuberant and loving nature seemed to belie the many dark years of bloodshed and conflict they'd endured.

She set about trying to understand the region, interviewing the wives of suicide bombers, Lebanese hashish farmers, stricken Palestinians on the West Bank, female boxing contestants in Cairo, Hezbollah fighters, and even Osama bin Laden's best friend. She also witnessed firsthand the impact of 9/11 on the region.

Gradually she learnt to negotiate these very different cultures with humour and more than the occasional faux pas. When she reluctantly left after several years she vowed to return. In 2006, after the violence flared up again between Israel and Lebanon, she went back to see how her adopted country and friends had coped, and how, with their remarkable resilience, they saw the way forward.

'Once Upon a Tim in Beirut' is Catherine's lyrical account of almost five years in the Middle East. Her evocative vignettes of life and compassionate portraits of her friends and acquaintances take the reader behind the headlines and into their lives: among many others she introduces us to a young Palestinian refugee, a Lebanese hashish farmer, Osama bin Laden's best friend and an Egyptian female boxer.

After returning from reporting on the early months of the Iraq war, Catherine discovered she was pregnant. And when she and Matthew decided to stay in Beirut to have their baby, a whole new story began to unfold.

The family returned home to Australia in 2005, but in 2006 Catherine traveled back to Beirut after the war between Israel and Hezbollah to see how her adopted country and friends had coped, and how, with their remarkable resilience, they now saw the way forward.

Catherine Taylor has a degree in politics and fine art, and works as a journalist. Her writing has been published in newspapers and magazines around the world. She has lived in London, Melbourne, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Beirut. Catherine now lives in her hometown, Sydney, with her husband and two small children.

Random House Australia
Author: Catherine Taylor
ISBN: 9781863255202 / 1863255206
RRP: $24.95