Laila El-Haddad is author of “Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting and Everything In Between” and co-author of “The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey.” Although she was born in Kuwait and raised primarily in Saudi Arabia, her parents are both Gaza natives. Laila attended an international high school in Bahrain before coming to the United States. However, she always longed to return to her parents’ hometown (Gaza City), and shortly after finishing her masters, that dream was fulfilled. From 2003-2007, Laila was the Gaza stringer for the Al Jazeera English website and was a regular contributor to BBC and the Guardian online, as well as radio correspondent for Pacifica’s Free Speech Radio News. You can follow her on her blog.