Books & Books and Miami Book Fair present…

An Evening with Helen Benedict and Eyad Awwadawnan

Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece

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The stories of refugees who fled violence or persecution only to become trapped in the worst refugee camps in Europe.

Helen Benedict, award-winning British-American professor of journalism at Columbia University, teams up with Syrian writer and refugee, Eyad Awwadawnan, to present the stories of five refugees who have endured long and dangerous journeys from the Middle East and Africa to Greece.

Hasan, Asmahan, Evans, Mursal and Calvin each tell their story, tracing the trajectory of their lives from homes and families in Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Cameroon to the brutal refugee camps, where they are trapped in a strange and hostile world.

These are compelling, first-person stories of resilience, suffering and hope, told in a depth rarely seen in non-fiction, partly because one of the authors is a refugee himself, and partly because both authors spent years getting to know the interviewees and winning their trust. The women and men in this book tell their stories in their own words, retaining control and dignity, while revealing intimate and heartfelt scenes from their lives.

HELEN BENEDICT, who has been writing about refugees for over ten years, is a recipient of the 2021 PEN Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History and the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism. She is the author of seven novels and six books of nonfiction, including the award-winning The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq, and the novel, Wolf Season. Her writing inspired both a class action suit against the Pentagon on behalf of people sexually assaulted in the military and the 2012 Oscar-nominated documentary, The Invisible War. She is a Professor of Journalism at Columbia University, New York. 

EYAD AWWADAWNAN, formerly a law student from Damascus, Syria, is a writer and poet currently living and working in Reykjavik, Iceland. During his four years in Greece, he worked as a cultural mediator, translator and interpreter for various NGOs. He also published a featured article in Slate Magazine detailing his escape from Syria.

Mansi Choksi is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and two-time Livingston Award Finalist. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, and more. She lives in Dubai with her husband and son. The Newlyweds is her first book. Order it below from Books & Books.

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Map of Hope and Sorrow: An Evening with Helen Benedict, Eyad Awwadawnan and Mansi Choksi