One of the themes in my book is the aftermath of war. For a long time, I wanted the title of the book to be ‘The past is never in the past’ because it isn’t. No matter how capable we are in locking it away, banishing it from our lives, it is still there. It lingers, bubbles under the surface, ready to erupt at the most innocuous of times.

When we begin writing a story or poem, we usually give it a placeholder title – the quick label we save it under on our laptop. Often, that working title captures the central theme or idea well enough, and sometimes it even ends up on the final cover. But what if it doesn’t?

I’ve been writing this book (coming this October—finally!) for over seven years. It began as a very personal story and slowly transformed into fiction shaped by my experiences, the stories of other refugees and survivors and a need to witness what happens after loss.