Under the Almond Tree

The poignant story of a refugee Afghan family fleeing the Taliban in the 1990s, travelling back and forth on the Trans-Siberian Express to Russia, as they try to decide where and how they will be allowed to make a new life. Narrated by 15 year-old daughter Samar, the family storyteller, we quickly come to discover all is not as it seems in this story of loss and love.

If you lost everything you loved, how would you survive and begin again? Under the Almond Tree tells the story of one refugee family fleeing Afghanistan and the catastrophic effects of war and displacement.
Fifteen year old Samar and her family are refugees, fleeing the conflict in 1990s Kabul, after the Russians and then the Taliban, turn their lives inside out. They are aboard the Trans-Siberian Express as it travels across Russia towards an uncertain future. With the help of Napoleon, the ticket collector, her beloved copy of Anna Karenina, and her family, Samar narrates the story of their epic journey away from their happy life in Kabul and everything they have known. But, as Samar's tale unfolds, and the secrets of the family are unearthed, we slowly discover that the truth is far more devastating - and more full of hope - than we could ever have imagined. Under the Almond Tree is a story of how we keep the truth from those we love, and even from ourselves, to hold on to the beliefs which underpin our lives. It's also the story of extraordinary resilience and courage, in a turbulent world where nothing can be relied upon, but everything is possible.