On an unusual episode in an unusual time at an unusual place, Dr. David Tully and Deema Maghalseh of Middlesex University Dubai welcome novelist, filmmaker and writing coach Daniela Tully, who talks with us about her timely Dubai-set novel, her upcoming writer's retreat, and the challenges and rewards of writing in a troubled era.

On this episode of Crossroads, co-hosts Dr. David Tully and Deema Maghalseh are joined by author, lecturer, and social scientist Donya Saberi to discuss her memoir The Quiet Revolution. The book shares the story of an Iranian woman navigating heartbreak and societal pressures in Dubai, while offering reflections that go beyond personal experience. Blending memoir with elements of self-help, it turns lived pain into an empowering narrative. Together, they explore the craft of the “misery memoir” and ask when private suffering becomes something larger than the individual.

This week on Crossroads, Dr. David Tully and Deema Maghalseh of Middlesex University Dubai are joined by filmmaker and author Adolf El Assal, an Egyptian-Luxembourgish resident of the UAE. He discusses how his projects (including Sawah, which reached the number one spot on Netflix) have attracted large and devoted audiences in countries as diverse as China and Egypt, thanks to the humour inherent in his dramatic explorations of the cross-cultural experience.