About the Author

Saadiah Ali was born in America and moved to Saudi Arabia as a child, when her father was recruited by the Saudi Royal Family to build the largest healthcare project in the kingdom’s history.  She was educated in British, Arabic, and American schools, which led to her developing strong language skills, and the start of her deep-rooted understanding of global cultures. From her elementary school education in Riyadh, she went on to a private all-girls boarding school and all-women's college in Wellesley and Boston, Massachusetts.

Saadiah was headed in the direction of becoming a physician like many others in her family; however, the thought of having too many doctors in the family coupled with her creative and entrepreneurial spirit, put her on a path for an Executive Healthcare MBA and becoming a student at one of the leading MFA creative writing programs.

Throughout Saadiah’s extensive travels she has gained insight into many cultures, in particular the breadth of how Saudi Arabian traditions have evolved over the past forty years into modern day.  She has an exceptional vantage point from which she views both Arab and Western perspectives.

“When people ask me where am I from, I want to say everywhere, since I have been fortunate to have traveled to close to a hundred countries and experienced so many diverse and wonderful cultures in the world.” Saadiah’s life's travels and experiences inspired the story of Driving in Riyadh, her first novel.