FALLING SEVEN TIMES is about a young Ethiopian woman, Alya, struggling to be a migrant worker to support her family. Her story is one of tens of thousands of people going abroad in search of jobs that pay a livable wage so they can send money home. Her sacrifices and the many ups and downs she experiences communicate what migrant laborers suffer. Alya s particular travels to the Gulf States and Middle Eastern countries illuminate the many desperate pitfalls of migratory labor. This book also highlights the foreign environments, including the different languages and cultures, Alya encounters and how they contrast with her customs. Alya s case is of such interest that it keeps the reader engrossed in learning what happens next. The reader keeps asking if Alya will live or die. This book of fiction is based on a true story. It teaches some elements of culture and customs of the countries where Alya works as well as in her home country of Ethiopia. There are many twists and turns in this book that keep the reader guessing about what happens next. Each of the book s thirty-six chapters (98,000 words) provides a description of Alya s understanding of bondage in a foreign land and her eventual escape to the impoverished sanctuary of home.
