NPR's Book of the Day: "This Palestinian journalist kept a diary as Israeli forces invaded – now it’s a book"

Date: October 23, 2025
Host: Chloe Weiner
Guest: Plestia Al Akkad, journalist and author
Interviewed by: Leila Fadel

Episode Overview

This episode centers around Palestinian journalist Plestia Al Akkad and her new book, The Eyes of Gaza. The book is based on the diary Al Akkad kept during 45 days spent reporting from Gaza as Israeli forces invaded, following the events after October 7, 2023. Chloe Weiner introduces the episode by connecting Al Akkad's work to the tradition of diaries that become testimonies of history, highlighting the particular role of Al Akkad's social media and written experiences in shaping perception of the Gaza conflict.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Personal as Historical Record

• [00:02] Chloe Weiner introduces Al Akkad's diary in the lineage of significant historical journals, contrasting the personal, immediate nature of such records with their later significance.
  • “Finding it difficult to imagine what it would be like to have such a personal document entered into the historical record…”
• Al Akkad's diary is framed as not just a personal story but representing millions of Palestinians.
  • [02:32] Plestia Al Akkad: “This diary isn’t my story alone. It’s the story of millions of Palestinians. This book is a reminder that history didn’t start on October 7th. History for Palestinians started in 1948.”

Pre- and Post-October 7: The Shifting Face of Gaza

• [01:24] & [03:13] Leila Fadel and Al Akkad discuss the endpoint of “normal life” in Gaza, where Al Akkad’s Instagram used to show carefree moments and now documents war and loss.
  • Chloe Weiner describes: “Snapshots...lounging by the beach in Gaza City, hanging with friends, getting glammed up, celebrating Palestinian culture. It all took a dark turn soon after Hamas attacked Israel.”
• [04:35] Plestia Al Akkad stresses how Instagram became a tool for catching up on life before, and now, it’s where Gazans learn about their friends’ deaths.

The Impact on Children

• [03:36] Al Akkad focuses on how the constant violence shapes childhoods:
  • “The first seven years of your life...it shapes who you are as a person. And in Gaza, children are not allowed to be children. Right now, kids in Gaza are growing up afraid of the sky…”
  • Notes that babies born during conflict “don’t even know what a home is like.”

Grief, Resilience, and the Need for Meaning

• [05:57] Leila Fadel reads a powerful passage from Al Akkad’s diary regarding mothers of martyrs. Al Akkad clarifies that celebrating these deaths is a means of survival:
  • “We don’t celebrate death, but death is all around us, and we need a way to convert it back to life.”
• [06:30] Al Akkad recounts a moment with a family facing bombing:
  • “Leon’s dad started saying, don’t worry, guys. At least if we get killed today, it's like we're getting killed for a cause bigger than ourselves...But obviously it's not okay. But it was us trying to make sense of that moment.”

Evacuation, Displacement, and the Loss of Normalcy

• [05:25] Discussing her best friend Dana, still in Gaza:
  • “She keeps evacuating a lot...it’s like an endless loop of displacement that has been going on for two years.”
• [07:24] On Gaza’s physical and emotional destruction:
  • “When I look at pictures and videos of Gaza, you can’t even recognize it anymore...So whenever I try to remember my memories and my life in Gaza, it’s like I’m remembering something that in real life it no longer exists.”

Notable Quotes

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------|-------| | 02:32 | Plestia Al Akkad | “This diary isn’t my story alone. It’s the story of millions of Palestinians. This book is a reminder that history didn’t start on October 7th. History for Palestinians started in 1948.” | | 03:36 | Plestia Al Akkad | “Right now, kids in Gaza are growing up afraid of the sky...There are a lot of babies who recently got born during the genocide and they don’t even know what a home is like.” | | 04:35 | Plestia Al Akkad | “Now, you learn about your friend's death from Instagram. So right now, even Instagram for Gazans is different than the rest of the world.” | | 05:57 | Plestia Al Akkad | “We don’t celebrate death, but death is all around us, and we need a way to convert it back to life.” | | 06:30 | Plestia Al Akkad | “[Leon’s dad said:] At least if we get killed today, it's like we're getting killed for a cause bigger than ourselves. It's like we're getting killed for Palestine. So it's okay, but obviously it's not okay. But it was us trying to make sense of that moment.” | | 07:24 | Plestia Al Akkad | “When I look at pictures and videos of Gaza, you can’t even recognize it anymore...it no longer exists.” |

Memorable Moments and Timestamps

• 01:24-01:48: Description of Al Akkad’s life and Instagram use before the October 7 attack.
• 02:32-02:45: Al Akkad situates her diary in the broader sweep of Palestinian history.
• 03:36-04:12: Reflection on the impact of war on children’s ability to experience normal childhoods.
• 05:01-05:25: The grief of learning about friends’ deaths via social media, revealing the normalization of tragedy.
• 06:30-07:05: Al Akkad’s story of solidarity and coping during bombardment.
• 07:24-08:01: The erasure of the familiar landscape and collective memory of Gaza.

Tone and Language

• The conversation is intimate and reflective, marked by empathy and a striving for clarity amidst trauma.
• Al Akkad’s language is direct and poignant, frequently returning to themes of memory, loss, resilience, and the distinct struggles of Gazans both historically and in the present.

Summary

This episode offers a compelling exploration of Plestia Al Akkad’s diary-turned-book as both a personal and collective chronicle of life in Gaza under siege. Through Al Akkad’s vivid storytelling and the probing interview, listeners are drawn into the day-to-day resilience, struggles, and efforts to find moments of humanity amidst devastation. The episode underscores the importance of lived experience as historical record, particularly for communities whose suffering is often reduced to statistics or headlines. Al Akkad’s reflections on pre-war joy, the altered reality of social media, and the desperate need to make meaning out of loss render the tragedy of Gaza at once singular and universal.

Listeners gain deep insight not only into the specifics of Al Akkad’s journey, but also into the ongoing Palestinian experience—its history, trauma, and undiminished spirit.