The Pulitzer Prize finalists upcomingTheMonk of Mokhamarks his first nonfiction work in nearly a decade.
Read on below, where you might also check out an exclusive look at the books cover.
I met Dave maybe seven years ago, six years ago.
Credit: Aaron Davidson/Getty Images
Its funny because I didnt know he was this famous author.
So they wanted somebody to give an accurate portrayal of the Yemeni community and verify it was accurate.
They asked me to read the script; I read it.
Random House
If you ever meet Dave, hes so, so humble and the quintessential writer.
He has an old cellphone, he doesnt like social media.
I came back from Yemen, and I had just escaped my life.
I met up with him and I was going through a little bit of my journey.
I was like, What are you going to write about?
I initially told him no.
I remember like a week later, I told a friend of mine about this.
And didnt even say the name correctly: I said David Edgers.
Hes like, Who?
This is an amazing opportunity to tell the story of coffee, your work.
So you werent familiar with his work?No, I wasnt.
And also, hes extremely humble in person.
Thats how I first knew Dave: I knew him as a friend.
Even before he began writing … he spent a long time talking to me about this.
Anyone whos met him, my friends and family, will tell you what a good person he is.
Then he would take notes and would go into everything.
Hed interview all the people involved, like my friends and family.
The book is really about how you were drawn to Yemeni coffee, and that culture and industry.
That was my familys threat.
I didnt even think about going to Yemen.
And so I thought that the best way for me to do social impact was to be a lawyer.
I thought thatd be great, my parents would always want to have a lawyer as a son.
And all my work in school and my efforts were about becoming a lawyer.
It blew me away how it tasted.
I tasted blueberries, and was like, This is not normal coffee.
Im used to drinking diner coffee where you have to put sugar and cream to make it drinkable.
Growing up in San Francisco, theres a huge food culture I was a foodie.
So I learned about how they are different varieties, and seasonality.
My familys from Yemen.
I grew up hearing stories about the Port of Mokha, this ancient port in Yemen called Mokha.
Most people dont know that theres a port called Mokha.
Just kind of happened as I went.
Your story has a darker component too, as you mentioned.
This book that Dave is writing,The Monk of Mokha, tells my story.
Yemen has made it to each cut of this Muslim travel ban.
This really wonderful land of people from all over.
This is the story of the American dream, how entrepreneurship can uplift so many people.
I think its especially important during our times now, because that dream is under threat.
I hope that my story can be one of those unifying narratives.
Particularly, I want them to understand that Dave did an incredible job going through that.
You hear all these stories of people who leave these long sea voyages and go into Greece and Italy.
You dont want to leave the land, to go by ocean if they have no other choice.
