When the World Sleeps

Francesca Albanese, the first woman to serve as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, conveys the soul of a people through ten unforgettable stories of resilience and humanity.

The spirit of a place lies in the people who inhabit it, in the stories that intertwine through its streets. And this is especially true of a land like Palestine, the witness to defining historic transitions to one of the most painful chapters in contemporary history. With a voice both authoritative and deeply human, Francesca Albanese (who lived in Palestine for many years while following the legal battles of numerous Palestinian families) takes on the role of narrator and elegantly composes a gallery of stories, characters, and places, starting with the stories of the people she met.

When the World Sleeps is a deeply personal and politically urgent account of bearing witness to the Palestinian struggle. Beyond the headlines and statistics, Albanese illuminates the people themselves, offering a powerful new lens on the global failures that have led us to here — and the fragile possibilities that still exist for a shared future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.