Refugee Families From the ‘Land of Permanent Goodbyes’

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The present moment in history brings with it an unprecedented global refugee crisis; one where more than 12 million children worldwide are currently living as refugees. Author Atia Abawi was born in a refugee camp after her parents fled Afghanistan in the early 1980s, and she has seen war firsthand through her work as a journalist in the Middle East; however, it is the human stories behind the staggering statistics of war that inspired her new novel.

In A Land of Permanent Goodbyes, Abawi uses her journalistic instincts to capture the heartbreaking story of a single family forced to deal with the harrowing perils of life as refugees. Narrated by Destiny itself and centered around teenager Tareq, the novel uses the ongoing Syrian civil war as a backdrop to tell the story of a loving family that is unwillingly pushed from their homeland. Tareq’s familial tale brings some clarity to readers of all ages about the unimaginably complex decisions that face people in war-torn regions and evokes genuine empathy for the plight of millions around the world. 

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes is a compelling and important story that gives teen readers and adults alike a chilling portrait of the bleakness of modern-day war time and the fragile hope that families hold on to in the face of absolute terror and immense upheaval.

Atia Abawi will speak at Boswell Book Co., 2559 N. Downer Ave., an event co-sponsored by University School of Milwaukee, on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m.