Critical Cases

"A testament to friendship and community, loss and grief, survival and creativity, faith and courage, the stubborn grace of rebuilding. A masterclass in the art of being human."
-ArabLit

"Translated with care and political nuance by Alessandro Columbu, the book spans thirteen harrowing years—from 2011 to 2024—chronicling the brutal arc of the Syrian uprising as well as the interior life of a man whose camera became a weapon against erasure. ... One of the memoir's greatest strengths is its balance of moral clarity and emotional nuance. Abdullah is uncompromising in his denunciations of Assad’s regime and extremist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS. ... His revolutionary ethos—dignity, justice, nonsectarianism—remains undiluted."
—World Literature Today, Notable Translations of 2025

"I read Critical Conditions in one sitting. It was so engrossing, vivid, and both painful and uplifting to read. Hadi Abdullah has managed to convey the agony, and the ecstasy of life lived trying to effectively report on the armed conflict in Syria. It is a testament to the human spirit, to the will to survive, and the despair of loss. Hadi is not only an extraordinary journalist, reporter, and witness, but a philosopher and poet as well. His text is brutal but also poetic and reflective. A wonderful addition to the literature on Syria’s long revolution, Critical Conditions is a perfect accompaniment to the film produced by another journalist (and rebel) caught up in the Siege of Aleppo,, Waad Alkateab's film For Sama
—Dawn Chatty, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration, Oxford University

"Critical Conditions is a breathtaking chronicle of fourteen years of revolt, war, suffering, loss, displacement, and liberation. In this powerful translation, Hadi Abdullah’s narration of his death-defying involvement as a frontline media activist provides both first-hand accounts of pivotal moments in the Syrian war, and deeply personal insight into the contrasted emotions Syrian revolutionaries have experienced during their long struggle for freedom and dignity. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the lived realities of the Syrian conflict."
—Thomas Pierret, Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds (IREMAM)

"One of the most urgent and moving works to emerge from the last decade.... Critical Conditions is not only a personal diary but also a collective archive, one that bears witness to the lives, voices, and struggles of countless Syrians, whose stories often vanish in the noise and politics of war. Translation here becomes an act of solidarity, ensuring that these words travel and ignite new readers across languages and borders."
—Ibrahim Fawzy, New Books Newtwork

Critical Conditions is a gripping, devastating, and inspiring account of determination and displacement amid the losses and victories sustained by Syrian revolutionaries throughout their struggle to topple the Assad regime. Journalist, friend, husband, father, media activist, and writer, Hadi Abdullah describes more than a decade spent in motion and in limbo, displaced from his hometown of al-Qusayr to navigate the unsettled life-worlds of "liberated Syria." With the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, as historians scramble to make sense of Syria’s dizzying recent history, Abdullah’s reflections from inside the unfolding events are an invaluable and breathtaking primary source. Alessandro Columbu’s vital and propulsive translation vividly brings these stories to life for the English-language reader.
—Max Weiss, Professor of History, Princeton University and author of Revolutions Aesthetic: