Author Kenan Trebincevic at Pequot Library, Nov. 2

Southport, CT – On Sunday, November 2, from 4:00pm - 6:00pm, at Pequot Library, former Westport resident Kenan Trebincevic shares his journey of exile, transformation, and redemption in The Bosnia List: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Return. He was a young survivor of the Bosnian War and returned to his homeland to confront the people who betrayed his family. There will be a 30 - 40 minute author talk, followed by Q & A, then book signing and refreshments. The program is free and open to the public.

At age eleven, Kenan Trebincevic was a happy, karate-loving kid living with his family in the quiet Eastern European town of Brcko. Then, in the spring of 1992, war broke out and his friends, neighbors and teammates all turned on him. Pero, Kenan's beloved karate coach, showed up at his door with an AK-47 screaming: "You have one hour to leave or be killed!" Kenan’s only crime: he was Muslim. This poignant, searing memoir chronicles Kenan’s miraculous escape from the brutal ethnic cleansing campaign that swept the former Yugoslavia. This is the gripping story of Kenan and his family's escape and journey to Westport, CT

After two decades in the United States, Kenan honors his father’s wish to visit their homeland, making a list of what he wants to do there. Kenan decides to confront the former next door neighbor who stole from his mother, see the concentration camp where his Dad and brother were imprisoned and stand on the grave of his first betrayer to make sure he’s really dead. Back in the land of his birth, Kenan finds something more powerful—and shocking—than revenge. The great instruction of this important work is the author's moral transformation that helped him replace hate with grace, if not forgiveness. Combining themes of war, childhood, and return, this memoir is for readers interested in the human drama of brutal conflicts and social dislocation. Knowledge of Balkan history is not necessary.

The Bosnia List: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Return by Kenan Trebincevic and Susan Shapiro was published February 25, 2014. Confirmed authors in Pequot Library’s Meet the Author series include: Peter Sis, Sunday, December 7, 2014, 4:00pm, The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint Exupery; Courtney Sullivan, Sunday, January 4, 2015, 4:00pm, The Engagements; Robert Nickelberg, Thursday, February 19, 2015, 7:00pm, Afghanistan: A Distant War; Bill Dedman (co-author), Saturday, March 14, 2015, 4:00pm, Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune; Erika Robuck, Sunday, May 3, 2015, 4:00pm , The House of Hawthorne.

Please visit www.pequotlibrary.org to learn more about this vibrant library, educational, arts and cultural institution. All classes and programs are open to everyone. For information: (203) 259-0346 ext. 15.