Deepcut News co-founder and journalist Antoun Issa captures his mother’s true experiences of love, heartbreak and new hope during the violence of civil war in Lebanon, in his new book Rebirth.

The story begins in Beirut in 1974. Laila Khalil has just come of age for marriage. The eldest of five in a poor Catholic family, Laila knows that she must fulfil her family’s expectations. But her heart is drawn to the handsome Nicolas, a coiffeur at a local hair salon. Dodging the watchful eyes in their patriarchal society, particularly those of Laila’s domineering father, the two young lovers begin a tender romance. Soon, they make plans for marriage. Laila’s dreams are dashed when the Lebanese Civil War breaks out.

The following is an extract from Rebirth.

On Friday evening, Laila sat with her siblings in their living room, struggling to face their sorrow. One by one, they embraced Laila, offering solemn farewells. Claire spoke only through her tears, her sadness preventing any words, with Claude clutched in her arms.

‘Don’t go,’ Charbel said brokenly, eyes streaming. His plea shattered Laila. It unleashed a downpour of guilt that her canopy of reason could not shield her from.

She cried, cried for the truth that she had long evaded – that her quest was a dangerous gamble with no guarantee of success. The gamble meant her family would have to survive alone until Laila carved a passage for them to Australia.

‘I love you,’ she said, covering his cheek with tearful........

© Pearls and Irritations