Helen Benedict, co-author (with Eyad Awwadawnon) of “Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.
Helen Benedict is the author of seven novels, including “Wolf Season” and “Sand Queen,” and five books of non-fiction. Her latest book, “Map of Hope and Sorrow,” co-written by Eyad Awwadawnon, a Syrian refugee who was planning to get a law degree in Damascus, is partly an oral history of refugees coming to Greece after escaping from their home countries. Helen Benedict teaches journalism at Columbia University,.
In the interview, she discusses how she first came to meet Eyad, and then takes a look at the stories of the refugees in the book, focusing on stories that didn’t quite make it into the book, and then looks at the harsh terrain of life in the camps.