Not Like My Mother

Love knows no boundaries even when those closest to you turn against you. When 14-year-old Samira enters an arranged marriage, her dreams of love are shattered. In the wake of the German invasion and massacre of Bosniaks, her husband Azis has never recovered from the mental torture of being forced to fight and kill in a war he didn't choose. His demons strip him of any ability to show compassion, which has devastating consequences on his family, especially his son Muhammed. Muhammed is forced to flee his father's beatings at the tender age of 12, eventually meeting Anika and her family many years later. The pair flee to communist Yugoslavia searching for a better life in Australia, though they cannot escape their past. Anika struggles to find herself in her new culture, her only salvation a desperate belief that despite Muhammed's abuse her love will see them through to better days. Their daughter, Yasna, takes on the responsibility of breaking the cycle even when another Balkan war stirs the underlying divisions and pain that has gripped their family for years. Who will survive? A heart breaking debut by Azra Alagic whose connection with her culture and characters ring true throughout this, at times, confronting story. Love, hope and determination prevail in a world where politics and religious differences attempt to cripple the tattered Balkan lands, displacing its people through never killing their spirit.