A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival By Melissa Fleming

Review by Annika Cole

The Short 

This biography accounts the inspiring struggle of Doaa Al Zamel, a Syrian girl who boards a ship risking everything for the promise of a safe future.

The Long 

In this intimate biography, Doaa tells the story of her life after it was turned upside down following the start of the 2011 Syrian civil war. Seeking a new life and education, Doaa and her fiancé, Bassem, decide to board a smuggler’s decrepit ship holding five hundred other refugees fleeing to Europe. Their journey is upended when the ship is struck and begins to sink. Doaa is left stranded in the sea, kept afloat by an inflatable ring, holding two young girls in her arms.  This is the story of her struggle and quest for survival. After her rescue, Doaa started a new life in Sweden, but hopes to one day return to her homeland of Syria.  

To read or not to read? 

Absolutely read! Doaa is one of millions of Syrians who have fled from the Syrian civil war seeking a better life.  Many are skeptical of allowing Syrian refugees into their countries, but this story shows the harrowing consequences of civil war that force them to make unimaginable decisions. Plus, this biography is set to premiere on the big screen!  Lena Dunham will write the survival story produced by Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams.