Zaina Brown

Fire in the Belly Zaina Brown

"A rare, brutally honest and gritty glimpse into the life of a foreign bellydancer in the Middle East, and the adventures of an intrepid world traveler." - Tamalyn Dallal, Author of 40 Days and 1001 NightsBurned out from the Manhattan hookah lounge hamster wheel, bellydancer Zaina decides to travel to Cairo for a few months of cultural immersion. Time away from New York makes the idea of returning to her old life unbearable, so Zaina reaches out to a famed Lebanese entertainment agent. He quickly sends her off to Bahrain for a bellydance contract, the first of many around the Arab world. Performing on stages in luxurious hotels is a dream come true, but nightlife in Arab countries is an underworld rife with pimps, hookers, and a cast of seedy characters. On top of it all, Zaina's life is in the hands of an elderly, unpredictable Lebanese man, and she's always just one misstep away from losing everything. Between work assignments, Zaina sets out on solo travels in sub-Saharan Africa and the less trodden corners of Arabia. She spars with the police in Somaliland and Western Sahara, disguises herself as a local woman for a tryst in Yemen, enters the rebel-held zone in Côte d'Ivoire, and witnesses the sudden start of the Egyptian revolution. Zaina learns to seek safety in the kindness of strangers, and to ignore their well-meaning concern. While changing countries at a rapid pace, romantic relationships bloom, then crash and burn. Fire In The Belly is a captivating story about the price of ambition, the flipside of dreams, and a young woman's passionate quest to discover the world.