7 Inspiring Books To Read on World Refugees Day

For a long time, life felt unfair for me, especially after settling in Europe and leaving my tribe behind. I was angry and frustrated most of the time and I couldn’t move on until I decided to take control of my life. I admitted what was out of my control, but most importantly, I fueled my anger into a positive thing — I became a storyteller.

Words helped me find peace and heal in a way therapy couldn’t. I dived into stories of migrants and refugees who lost their worlds and had to adapt to new unfamiliar worlds. I started writing my own stories and let all the blocked out memories flow over the paper. Now, I am proudly shortlisted by Penguin Books under the “WriteNow” programme that supports under-represented writers.

Today, thanks to written words, my heart aches less. And on World Refugees Day, I want to share some of the heart-breaking and heart-healing books that helped me get through my displacement and resilience journey.

1. The Battle Of Home by Marwa Al-Sabouni

“What is home? The question has haunted me for a long time, and the war in my country has taken me through several stages in search of an answer. At the very moment when I imagine I have arrived at a response, the letters blur before my eyes and become illegible. The truth is that I had no idea…