The Civil War of 1975-1990 forms a backdrop to Emily Nasrallah's Flight Against Time, but the story Nasrallah tells is far older and more universal than the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-1990. Nasrallah eloquently captures the enduring anguish of parents whose children feel they must spread their wings in other lands, touched by the 'contagion of emigration', never to return to the 'nursery that embraced the seedlings for a while'.

In a tale of mythic proportions, Nasrallah captures the searing love of parents for children and children for their parents, despite two decades of separation, and sister for brother, despite half a century of separation. She portrays the yearning for loved ones from whom one will forever be separated, not by death, but by distance.

In a world of global migrations, no one can be untouched by stories of separation, yearning for loved ones far away, and nostalgia for a time when parents, children, family, friends and neighbors lived in a small world of integrity and dignity.' - Dr. Suad Joseph, University of California at Davis