Join Nathalie for an exploration of her Indie Book of the Month (August 2026. Voted for by independent bookshops across the UK).

Birmingham. Baghdad. Beirut. How far must you go to escape your past?

All The Lives She Lived offers a unique perspective on life in Baghdad from the late 1930s through to the 1958 revolution, with an unforgettable main character that the reader will root for. She left everything behind, even her name. But secrets don’t stay buried. It’s 1917, Doris lives with her grandparents in suburban Birmingham and is told she is alone in the world. When she discovers her parents and six siblings are alive just streets away, everything she believes unravels. Who is she? Why was she given away? Desperate for answers, Doris reinvents herself and flees England, chasing a new life in Baghdad, then Beirut. But no matter how far she runs, the past is always close at her heels.

Nathalie Abi-Ezzi was born and grew up in Lebanon during the civil war. She later moved to London to complete her PhD, where she began to write fiction. Her first novel, A Girl Made of Dust was published in 2008. Nathalie has since published another novel and a poetry collection and been recognised by the German LiBeraturpreis, the Desmond Eliot Prize and the Gregory O’Donoghue poetry competition. All The Lives She Lived is loosely based on Nathalie’s grandmother’s experiences.

'All the Lives She Lived paints a vibrant picture of how we misunderstand ourselves and others, and how good intentions can lead us in the wrong direction. Gorgeously immersive and richly detailed, with characters you can root for and despair over all at once’.

Gráinne Murphy, author of Winter People

'It gripped me immediately and refused to let go until I’d devoured every last page'.

Awais Khan, author of No Honour.

The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the event.

Description supplied by the event organiser.