Adnan: The Boy Who Helped His Mummy Remember

Adnan is the heartwarming story of a refugee boy’s attempts to heal his mother’s mental health issues with the power of his creativity as they rebuild their lives in their new home.

Sometimes, when something sad happens, people can push it so far down because it hurts too much.
That’s why Mommy doesn’t remember.

This touching and sensitively told children’s book is a story about a boy and his mother, about trauma and recovery, and how to deal with the challenges of mental health.

It tells the story of an imaginative ten-year-old Syrian refugee boy who flees his home country with his mother. Now settled in the UK, he must use all his creativity to break through his mother’s PTSD or risk losing her forever.

The book is based on a short film of the same name, which has collected multiple awards and made Official Selection at its first Oscar qualifying festival.

Inspired by her own experiences as a refugee, Syrian artist Diala Brisly’s illustrations are powerful and evocative, highlighting the contrast between Adnan’s hope and the helplessness of the mother.

The charity Choose Love will receive 2% of the book’s recommended retail price on every copy sold. Choose Love (formerly Help Refugees) goes where the need is greatest. They fill the gaps and act where others won’t. Sometimes that means search and rescue boats. Sometimes it means providing food or safe, secure long-term housing for refugees. Since 2015, they’ve supported over 120 incredible projects and reached over one million people.

Mark Arrigo and Steven Chatterton are co-creators and writer-directors of the award-winning film Adnan. A key theme that runs throughout their work is that of resourceful children creatively engaging with their parent’s mental health. Their first collaboration was the award-winning short film Dorothy’s Theory, which tells the story of a determined little girl’s efforts to help resolve her mother’s grief using the lessons her astrophysicist father taught her before he died. Adnan is Mark and Steven’s first picture book.