In Occupation Diaries, award-winning author Raja Shehadeh writes about the minutiae of life under a totalitarian regime. What most of us in the free world take for granted has to be carefully thought about, down to the smallest of details: Will the post be allowed to get through? Will there be enough water for the bath tonight? How shall I get rid of the rubbish collecting outside? How much time should I allow for the journey to visit my cousin, going through checkpoints? Slowly the intolerance surrounding Shehadeh unravels to reveal itself as an ugly product of weakness and insecurity.Thoughtfully and beautifully observed, Shehadeh writes about how he manages to remain sane under occupation. His writing and political activism gives him hope while his garden in Ramallah offers him sanctity from the tired world around him, - an anchor in an uncertain and tentative world.