Veronica is a teenager when civil war erupts in South Sudan. Lonely and friendless after the death of her father, she finds solace in her first boyfriend, and together they flee across the city when the fighting breaks out. On the same night, Daniel, the son of a colonel, also makes his escape, but finds himself stranded by the River Nile, alone and vulnerable. Lilian is a young mother, who runs for her life holding the hand of her little boy Harmony – until a bomb attack wrenches them apart, forcing her to trek on alone.
After epic journeys of endurance, their lives cross in Bidi Bidi in Uganda – the world’s largest refugee camp. There they meet James, a counsellor who helps them to find light and hope in the darkest of places.
The End of Where We Begin is a gripping and tender true-life account of three young people whose promising lives are brutally interrupted by war. It documents their heart-breaking and inspiring battle to keep moving on through extremes that would break most people.
The book is published by Eye Books in the UK and by Scribe House in Uganda.
The End of Where We Begin won the 2021 Moore Prize. It was commended by the jury as a “book full of heart” that “engages our hearts with vivid and moving stories of characters whose undaunted will prevails against overwhelming odds.” The book was also a finalist in the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
The author is sharing the proceeds of this book with the Milaya Project, a non-profit organisation working with women’s collectives in Bidi Bidi settlement in Uganda, connecting them with customers for their embroidered milayas. You can read more about them at milayaproject.org or follow them on Instagram @milayaproject.
Rose Asha Sillah and her daughter in Bidi Bidi
Nora Lorek / The Milaya Project