Guest Post: Atia Abawi, author of A LAND OF PERMANENT GOODBYES

I’m thrilled to welcome Atia Abawi, author of A LAND OF PERMANENT GOODBYES, to The Young Folks. She’s here to share why she wrote this novel, what she hopes the audience will take away, and the audience she envisions for the book:

 

Millions of human beings suffer the consequences of war in a way most of us cannot even imagine. They’re forced from their homes, they’ve witnessed the deaths of their loved ones, and in an instant they went from living to surviving. It’s something my family went through and what people have gone through since the beginning of humanity really. Refugees are not new to our world, in fact most people – whether they know it or not – have had loved ones and ancestors who have experienced the struggle.

I really hope the readers of ‘A Land of Permanent Goodbyes’ will get a better look into what a refugee goes through. Beyond what they read in an article or see in a short news clip. For a moment I want them to step into their shoes. I also want them to see beyond the difficulties but witness the love – that of family and the strangers that help those in need.

I hope that both supporters of refugees and those who are skeptical of them pick up this book and give it a chance. I’d love to know what they both take away from it.

 

About A LAND OF PERMANENT GOODBYES:

Narrated by Destiny, this heartbreaking — and timely — story of refugees escaping from war-torn Syria is masterfully told by a foreign news correspondent who experienced the crisis firsthand.

In a country ripped apart by war, Tareq lives with his big and loving family . . . until the bombs strike. His city is in ruins. His life is destroyed. And those who have survived are left to figure out their uncertain future.

In the wake of destruction, he’s threatened by Daesh fighters and witnesses a public beheading. Tareq’s family knows that to continue to stay alive, they must leave. As they travel as refugees from Syria to Turkey to Greece, facing danger at every turn, Tareq must find the resilience and courage to complete his harrowing journey.

But while this is one family’s story, it is also the timeless tale of all wars, of all tragedy, and of all strife. When you are a refugee, success is outliving your loss. Destiny narrates this heartbreaking story of the consequences of war, showing the Syrian conflict as part of a long chain of struggles spanning through time.

About Atia Abawi:

Atia Abawi is a foreign news correspondent who was stationed for almost five years in Kabul, Afghanistan. She was born to Afghan parents in West Germany and was raised in the United States. Her first book for teens was the powerful Secret Sky, about forbidden romance between different ethnic tribes. She currently lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Conor Powell, and their son, Arian, where she covers stories unfolding in the middle east and the surrounding areas.

 

 

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