Pulled by the Heart

Nancy Wall, Author of the book, Pulled by the Heart, discussed how she lived in the Middle East for 10 years during the 1970-1980’s.  Her story begins with her flight out of the Outagamie County Airport and ends with her flight back into this same airport  In 1975, she flew into Beirut, knowing that there was turmoil, to meet the man she met at MSOE. Nancy knew Maher for 5 years before they were married.  In a month’s time, Beirut was in a civil war.  Nancy stuck out like a sore thumb since she did not know the language and had blond hair, blue eyes and fair skin.  One day she went out to get basic groceries not realizing the danger.  During this time, she lived on the demarcation line or no man’s land between the Muslims and the Christians. The people in the Middle East are incredibly generous with their spirit, soul and money. Nancy was the only woman who was accepted in many business meetings because of her husband’s stature.  She did everything that she wanted. They moved from the civil war in Beirut to the sand dunes, camels and riches of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf.   Nancy embraced and thrived in the culture of nomads and millionaires until a change in her husband threatened her life that that of her two children.  She could submit to her husband’s demands or find the courage to come back to the United States.  She decided to come back with her 2 children and $6.00 in her pocket.  She had a great family support system that helped her through this difficult time.  She worked 3-4 jobs to survive.  Most of the book is about living in the Middle East.  Nancy never planned to come back to the United States - she planned to spend the rest of her life in the Middle East.  She went back 2 years ago to see a friend who found her on Facebook.  It was like she never left.  She hopes to bring her children back to show them where they were raised and the richness and goodness of their heritage and not just what is read in the newspaper.      Fifteen years after coming back to the United States, Nancy remarried.  Her and her husband live in Chicago, own their own companies and travel around the world.  Nancy grew up in Neenah and she comes back every summer to see her family.