According to translator Anam Zafar, the author wanted to represent "the humans behind the headlines", and published her "descriptions of violence and trauma, alongside frank, absolutely un-flowery dialogue".

Passages from the oral narrative tradition preceding the book's chapters further provide insight into the lives of women, who are suffering from their lifestyles shaped by men.

[10] Excerpts of Abdul Samad’s writing, translated by fellow Syrian Ghada Alatrash, Assistant Professor at Alberta University of the Arts, Canada, have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, and literary discussions of her work have been aired in the United States on Public Radio International and Studio 360.

[2][11] In a January 2016 article, PBS NewsHour called Abdul Samad’s writing "poetic and rich in imagery", presenting " the urgency of life in Syria and the struggle of families to maintain stability under the threat of war.

"[12] In the dedication for her 2020 book Imagining Justice for Syria, American lawyer and diplomat Beth Van Schaack quoted Abdul Samad's poem When I Am Overcome by Weakness.

"[16] In his review of No Water to quench their Thirst, German writer Volker Kaminski remarked that it was not easy to follow the narrator in her "expansive fable and the many flashbacks".