About

My name is Shahad Ali

Designer. Writer. Storyteller. Marketer & Artist.

Imagination never idle. Dreams never still. ​

I was born in Iraq in 1988 — just as the curtain was falling on one brutal war, and two years before another began.

My earliest memories were shaped by the weight of conflict: the First Gulf War, the years of sanctions that followed, and the long shadows they cast. Hunger, grief, and survival became quiet constants. Yet somehow, so did imagination. ​

As a child, I lived in two worlds — one of rubble and silence, and another built from wild dreams. In my head, I traveled to cloud cities, unraveled mysteries on hidden islands, and befriended creatures in enchanted jungles. Maybe it was escape. Maybe it was resilience. Either way, I never stopped imagining. ​

Then came the Second Gulf War — devastation, displacement, and the loss of a million lives. I attended college through gunfire, explosions, and the constant fear of vanishing without a trace. My family left for the United States, but I had to stay behind. For two years, I lived alone in a war-torn country — while wondering if I’d see my family again. ​

In my mid-20s, I finally made it to the U.S. A new country. A new language. A new life. It wasn’t starting from zero — it was starting from underground. I had to rebuild everything: language, career, friendships, community, and identity. I earned my second degree — this time in a foreign tongue — and stepped into the brutal maze of corporate America. I struggled. I endured. I evolved. And somewhere along the way, I returned to the one thing that never abandoned me: storytelling.

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Now, writing is no longer just a spark. It’s the fire I tend, the place I return to, and the way I make sense of a world that keeps changing. ​ This is where my journey has brought me.