An aspiring photographer follows her dreams and faces her fears in a poignant novel about finding beauty, promise, and love amid the chaos of war-torn Kurdistan.
It’s 1979. Olivia Murray, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper, is determined to become a photojournalist and make a difference with her work. When opportunity arrives, she seizes it, accompanying her Kurdish boyfriend, Delan, to northern Iraq for a family wedding, hoping to capture an image that lands her a job in the photo department. More important, though, the trip is a chance to understand Delan’s childhood and bridge the differences of their pasts. Yet when the return home proves less safe than Delan believed, Olivia is confronted with a reality she had not expected, and is awakened to the dangers of a town patrolled by Iraqi military under curfew and constant threat.
But in this world torn apart by war, there are intoxicating sights and scents, Delan’s loving family, innocence not yet compromised, and small acts of kindness that flourish unexpectedly. All of it will be tested when Olivia captures a shattering, tragic moment on film, one that upends all their lives and proves that true bravery begins with an open heart.
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Olivia is a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper aspiring to be a photojournalist, so when her Kurdish boyfriend Delan is invited home to Iraq for a wedding, she sees tagging along as her chance to not only broaden her work, but to learn more about Delan’s culture. In 1979, Iraq is plagued by war and when the trip proves to be even less safe than they anticipated, Olivia is confronted with a side of the world she’s never experienced. But amid the war is beauty, family, and love—until Olivia captures a tragic moment and upends all of their lives.
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Buzzfeed