First published 2021
Dr. Mina, a Lebanese-American transgender physician, arrives on Lesbos during the height of the Syrian refugee crisis. She intends to help, but quickly discovers her own expectations and professional distance complicate her mission. As refugees stream through makeshift camps, Mina struggles to connect—both with the traumatized individuals seeking medical care and with her own complex identity and family history. Her brother's documentary film about the crisis hovers at the edges of her experience, creating additional layers of observation and disconnection. Mina must navigate her own marginality—as a trans woman, as an Arab-American, as a medical professional—while witnessing human suffering that resists simple narratives of rescue or understanding.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, outsider-perspective
Setting: Lesbos
Period: Syrian Refugee Crisis
368 pages · Hardcover · Corsair
Content warnings: medical-trauma