I met Layal in Beirut during one of the famous tea ceremony at Yasmeen’s. Which was somehow funny as my own daughters’ names are Layal and Yasmine. Layal works as a translator and her name popped up naturally when I needed some proofreading for the Arabic sentences. She was as picky as I desperately wanted (and as I am myself), finding missing shaddehs or suggesting proper caesurea. Without her intervention, "The Beirut Book" would not have been as neat as I had in mind. That’s a fact.
