Jean P. Sasson (born 1950,

Troy, Alabama Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843. Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Bri ...

, United States) is an American writer whose work mainly centers around women in the Middle East.

Biography

Growing up in a small town, Sasson found adventure between the pages of books. Her strong desire to uproot herself from her rural surroundings led her to jump at the opportunity to work and travel abroad. In 1978 she traveled to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

to work in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

as an administrative coordinator of medical affairs., where she met Peter Sasson, her future husband. They married in 1982 and Sasson left the hospital after four years of service, but the couple remained in Saudi Arabia until 1990. During their time in the Middle East, the Sassons made many friends, including members of the royal Al-Saud family, who visited the hospital. The most notable of these friendships was between Sasson and "Princess Sultana", the princess about whose life ''The Princess Trilogy'' tells. Sasson is currently based in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Works

* ''The Rape of Kuwait'' – Knightsbridge (January 1991) * ''Ester's Child'' – Windsor-Brooke (September 1, 2001) * ''Mayada: Daughter of Iraq'' – Dutton Adult (October 16, 2003) * ''Love in a Torn Land'' – Wiley (March 5, 2007) * '' Growing Up bin Laden: Osama's Wife and Son Take Us Inside Their Secret World'' St. Martin's Press, (2009) * ''For the Love of a Son: One Afghan Woman's Quest for Her Stolen Child'' Bantam (February 1, 2011) * ''Yasmeena's Choice: A True Story of War, Rape, Courage and Survival'' – LDA (October 3, 2013)

Princess Sultana

* ''Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia'' – Windsor-Brooke (March 1, 2001)'' * ''Princess Sultana's Daughters'' – Windsor-Brooke (March 1, 2001) (UK Title: ''Daughters of Arabia'' (, Bantam, 2004) * ''Princess Sultana's Circle'' – Windsor-Brooke (May 1, 2002) (UK title: ''Desert Royal'' (, Bantam, 2004) * ''Princess, More Tears to Cry'' – Transworld Doubleday UK (August 28, 2014) * ''Princess, Secrets to Share'' – Penguin Books (November 30, 2015) * ''Princess, Stepping out of the Shadows'' – Random House (August 1, 2019)

Awards and honors

* Princess was selected as one of the best "500 Great Books by Women" *

The New York Times Best Seller List ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

Best Seller List * Princess – chosen as an Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild Doubleday Book Club * Princess – chosen as A

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

Selection * Princess was a Bestseller in over 25 countries around the world

Other works

*''American Chick in Saudi Arabia'' (Kindle Edition only, not a full book)

References

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasson, Jean Living people 1947 births Writers from Alabama People from Troy, Alabama American women biographers American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women