Historical Fiction
Date Published: September 9, 2026
Before Vicky could truly understand herself, there was a story she needed to
understand in her Great Aunt Elizabeth.
Queens, 1984. Dr. Elizabeth Khayat—Palestinian-American, former pilot
and pioneering physician—is recently widowed and fiercely private about
her past. When her rebellious teenage grandniece, Vicky, is sent to spend the
summer with her, the two clash immediately. Vicky is consumed by romance and
rebellion; Elizabeth has built her life on discipline and hard-won
independence. But Elizabeth’s guarded presence conceals a wartime
history in World War II France—where, as a young doctor learning to fly,
she formed a dangerous alliance with a German-Jewish colleague and became
entangled with the French Resistance. Survival demanded impossible choices,
and not all of them can remain buried.
As Vicky’s own reckless relationship begins to spiral, long hidden truth
threatens to surface—forcing both women to confront who they are.
Discovering Elizabeth is a dual-timeline novel about legacy, sacrifice and the
complicated inheritance between generations of women.
Alexandra Khayat Dahl is a fourth-generation American whose family’s
origins are from the Levant region of the Middle East. Raised in Washington,
DC and educated in Catholic schools, she went on to attend an international
university that set the course for a life defined by global experience. She
spent the majority of her adult years in Europe, where living across cultures
sharpened her perspective and strengthened her voice. A mother of four adult
children, she returned to the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic with
a renewed commitment to preserving the stories that shape generations.
Inspired by the true life of her great aunt and godmother—a fearless
doctor, aviator, supporter of the French resistance and a trailblazer who
defied an arranged marriage to marry for love— Alexandra celebrates a
legacy of courage, conviction, and uncompromising independence.
