Jeanne M. Eck

In 2000, at the age of 54,journalist Jeanne M. Eck visited Egypt as a tourist.

On the first day of her trip, she toured King Zoser's step-pyramid in Sakkara, a suburb of Cairo. As she approached the entryway to the complex, she looked down into the sand and was perplexed, then shocked to see a single imprint of a lotus flower (a sign of spiritual unfolding). Just as suddenly, the words "Welcome home!" raced into her consciousness. At that moment, she knew she was being called to pack up her life, put it in storage and return to Cairo to live. Alone.

On March 11, 2001, she returned to Cairo as a resident. The logistics of her move were a nightmare, her journey a challenge, the rewards without equal.

Ms. Eck had promised everyone she knew and loved in the West that she would stay in touch. Award-winning "I Am Happier to Know You" evolved from her first year of weekly email communications to family and friends who feared she had lost her mind when she decided to move to a Muslim, Middle Eastern country!

As she wrote for the joy of expressing all that she was experiencing, her readership expanded and began to encircle the earth. From the responses she received, Ms. Eck realized that by sharing what she was learning, she touched the hearts of others.

Written with the forthrightness, joy, humor and energy of a spiritual Erma Bombeck, "I Am Happier to Know You" candidly shares the delight and challenges of living in a culture diametrically opposite the Western experience and of the wonderful Egyptian friends who unconditionally supported the author with wisdom and kindness so she could understand, then share their culture, beliefs and lives with readers worldwide.

"I Am Happier to Know You" challenges the reader to silence their fear of those they don't know, but would love if they just leaned outside their cultural box.

As a single, midlife woman living in a predominantly Muslim country, her experiences, the lives of the people she met, her laughter and pain, and how she chose to deal with it, carries a global message, a universal bequest for peace through understanding, valuing and embracing our differences.

Life is about finding the wisdom within ourselves to embrace the challenges living throws our way. It is also about hope that we can change who we are today in order to become all we dream of tomorrow. "I Am Happier to Know You" is the story of learning how to truly love ourselves so that we can truly love others. Ms. Eck's documentation of her journey is an inspiration and example for others to welcome change with delight rather than fear and to reach for their destiny when it arrives.

"I Am Happier to Know You" is the English translation of the Arabic expression, "Ana asaad" (pronounced "Ana ah-sod"). It is used in two contexts: Upon hearing good news, Ana asaad is employed to say, "I am happier for you than you are for yourself." Or, as in the West, when introduced to someone who might say, "I'm happy to meet you," an Egyptian will often graciously respond, "Ana asaad" (I am happier to know you than you are to know me). Ms. Eck chose this title because it concisely expresses her gratitude for all that Egypt and her people have taught her. She is indeed happier and wiser for having known Egypt, her people and culture.

Currently a resident of Mexico City, Mexico, Jeanne is working on her next book, a novel.