The title alone is a universally resounding cry for help: I Just Wanted to Save My Family. It also proves to be French legal expert and first-time author Stéphan Pélissier's best defense to challenge a guilty verdict that demands seven years of imprisonment.
Pélissier and his wife, Zena, a Syrian immigrant pursuing her Ph.D. in penal law, meet on a dating site in April 2011. After an initial (almost comical) misunderstanding about commitment and other women, the pair share an idyllic courtship, discussing marriage after only six months. The Syrian war prevents both families from being present at the couple's French wedding, and the violence continues to escalate in the ensuing years. France is the logical destination for the relocation of Zena's family, but they are inexplicably denied asylum. Relying on illegal migration networks becomes the only alternative for escape. Parents Saif and Wafaa, sister Mayada and brother Anas--with the last-minute addition of cousin Samer--abandon Syria in the summer of 2015, resolved to reach France. Their perilous odyssey is interrupted in Greece, where the potentially fatal threat of crossing into Italy is so great that Pélissier travels to Athens determined to secure a legal ferry crossing for his extended in-laws. His brave intentions land the entire group in Greek prison, with Pélissier charged by the Greek government with human trafficking, sparking a labyrinthine, four-year journey for justice.
Co-written with Cécile-Agnès Champart and translated by the prodigious and award-winning Adriana Hunter, Pélissier's earnest memoir provides testimony to resilience, justice and, most of all, the unbreakable bonds of familial love. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon