Broadleaf Books · October 27, 2026 · Hardcover, 194 pages
When Mohamed Hammoud arrived in Canada as a child refugee from Lebanon, his family renamed him Mike, a gesture meant to shield him from prejudice, but one that erased elements of his history, faith, and roots. At home, he was still Mohamed. In public, he became someone else. That fracture bred silence, impostor syndrome, and a restless search for belonging.
From his childhood in Beirut to the violence of civil war, from the quiet erasure of assimilation to a TEDx Talk that catalyzed healing, a radical act of love for self, community, and truth.
"Writes with a clarity and tenderness that stay with you long after the final page. A powerful meditation on identity, migration, and the quiet resilience required to rebuild a sense of home after displacement."
, Tala Abou Dabousa, Rogers TV & Sports, OMNI News"Timely, compassionate, and profoundly moving. Hammoud transforms his personal history into a universal story of belonging."
, Dalia Fahmy, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science, Long Island University"A beautiful articulation of the unspoken, too-often silenced quest to understand the divine impulse within us all."
, Katherine Monk, author of Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell"Loss is transformed into grace; grace teaches us how to lift one another. Here, Mohamed is more than a name, it is a legacy: honored, enduring, and whole."
, Nancy Perin, Executive Director, Gallery of Human Migration