Melissa Fleming is Head of Communications and Chief Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Her TED talk on the subject of refugees has been viewed more than 800,000 times. She writes regularly for the Guardian.
Melissa Fleming's tale of a young Syrian woman's search for peace and safety is a book written for our times. Fleming captures the unremitting fear, the crushing despair, and the glint of hope for a better life that drive families to risk everything and sail the treacherous seas. On every page, loss and hope tangle. On every page, the human toll of the worst humanitarian crisis of our time is painfully, heartbreakingly brought home. This is an emotional read, at times painful, but it is above all a poignant tribute to hope, to resilience, and to the capacity for grace and generosity that dwells deep in the human heart -- Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of The Kite Runner In a few years, when people will look back at our current time of conflicts, dislocation, and displacement, the story of Doaa al-Zamel - and of those she saw die, and of the new life she saved?will stand out as one of its defining narratives -- Bruno Giussani, European director, TED