I Can Imagine It for Us

Mai Serhan's I Can Imagine It for Us traces a young woman's journey across Egypt, Lebanon, Dubai, China, and Palestine as she seeks intimacy with her estranged father and reckons with generational exile.

Written in a genre-blurring, lyrical style, the memoir blends narrative, essay, and poetic passages to evoke memory, grief, and imagination.

Central themes include the lasting impact of the Nakba on diaspora identity, family violence and reconciliation, and the creative act of imagining a homeland one cannot physically visit.

Serhan uses cinematic pacing for some sections and lyricism in others, deliberately fragmenting the form to mirror unsettled exile.

The book also reflects on authorship and voice as the narrator comes into command of her identity and language.