What does it mean to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community in Iraq? To love where love is forbidden, to flee and become a stranger, or to stay and live a double life? Iraqi journalist Azhar Al-Rubaie weaves together the voices of those still enduring the shadows of their homeland and those navigating the precarious light in exile. Through intimate interviews, In the Shadow, In the Light reveals the harrowing choices faced by queer Iraqis: invisibility or danger, exile or imprisonment, self-erasure or defiance. A testament to resilience and the unbreakable will to survive, this book is both a document of oppression and a celebration of the quiet rebellions that keep hope alive.