To celebrate the launch of Good Morning, Hope Mark Kosmo will interview authors Argita and Detina Zalli

Good Morning, Hope is the inspiring true story of the Zalli family, forced by war to flee their beloved homeland.

Born in poverty-stricken Albania, twin sisters Argita and Detina Zalli always dreamed of becoming doctors. Their parents scrimped and sacrificed, committed to giving them a better life. But then the unthinkable happened. In 1997, the government collapsed, plunging the country into anarchy and civil war.

The twins’ dream unraveled along with their homeland. Their parents had to find a way to leave and save their daughters’ futures, not to mention their very lives.

It took over two years for the Zalli family to escape. After several dangerous attempts, they finally made it to England, where the thirteen-year-old twins believed everything would be much better. They soon found out otherwise. Now poor refugees, the girls were mercilessly bullied and constantly afraid they would be sent back to Albania and their parents would be sent to jail.

Still, the twins persevered and learned how to navigate their harsh new reality. When tragedy struck yet again, threatening what they held most dear, the girls had to come to terms with the high price they had all paid to survive.

In Good Morning, Hope, Argita and Detina share their harrowing story of courage and resilience. It was the enduring strength of family, particularly the sisters’ unbreakable bond as twins, that nurtured and sustained them throughout their perilous ordeal.

Born in Albania, twin sisters Argita and Detina Zalli were ten years old when the government collapsed and civil war broke out. Two years later, after several failed attempts to flee the violence and poverty, they escaped with their parents to England.

Overcoming the formidable challenges of being refugees, both young women achieved academic success and went on to become highly accomplished PhD research scientists and lecturers.

Influenced by Barack Obama and eager to help others, they founded We Speak Science, a nonprofit organization that supports disadvantaged students throughout the world, particularly immigrants, whose circumstances hinder their ability to learn at school.

Subsequently, in collaboration with world-class oncologists and scientists, Argita and Detina cofounded Aferdita Ime, a nonprofit initiative that seeks to help cancer patients through psychosocial support and counseling.

Mark Kosmo belongs to the third generation Albanians in the U.S.A. where he has worked for the majority of his life. Mark holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, and did his undergraduate degree in Economics and Mathematics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. During his professional career, Mr. Kosmo has worked for more than 10 years at the World Bank in Washington D.C., as an environmental and energy economist during which time he also lived and worked extensively in Albania from 1992-1999. Mr. Kosmo has been active in the Albanian Diaspora for nearly three decades and currently serves as the Chair and Founder of the Global Albanians Foundation (GAF), former Chair of Germin until 2021, and former Chair and Founder of the Massachusetts Albanian American Society “Besa” (MAASBESA) which was founded in 2006 in Boston.

Good Morning, Hope Launch Event