OUR TRUTH
An Egyptian Tale for My Son
Truth is the friend everyone pretends to like, but no one wants to know.
In 1990, while the Berlin Wall fell in Germany, a small family broke apart in Egypt.
Their middle son went missing. He was meant to be on a holiday, but his intention was to never come back. He confided this to no one, except for his boy brother.
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The family never acknowledged their loss. Life had to carry on as if nothing had taken place. He certainly would be back. Decades passed, and the little boy became a man, weighed down by the secret he held and lost between reality and dream. He escaped the ruins that were once a home in pursuit of freedom.
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From within the folds of his olive groves, hidden in the south of Italy he reflects back on a family trauma with roots that reach decades before the departure of his older brother. He decides to recount this multigenerational tale to his son to answer the questions he never dared ask.
THE STORY BEHIND
OUR TRUTH
It was meant to be a letter for my son.
The story, however, contained too much. Too much history. Too many secrets. Too many miles traveled and friendships won and lost. Too much love and heartbreak and redemption.
What was meant to span only a few pages soon became a notebook. The notebook, in time, became a manuscript that, under the guidance of my generous editors, became Our Truth.
About the Author
Eslam Safwat Makadi
I am, first and foremost, a father.
Other words to describe me might include Egyptian, British, recovering corporate executive, olive farmer, jazz enthusiast, explorer and gourmand.
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After a career spent traveling the world, I now reside in the Puglia region of Southern Italy, where I write, play music and cook. Our Truth is my first literary work.
