The Age of Silence is a family saga, antiwar tribute to mothers in war zones based on real events set in Baghdad during the Iraqi-Iranian War and the Gulf War. Living between the hammer and the anvil of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in Iraq, with a son missing in battle and a huge fortune tearing her family apart, Bedria fights a battle in her own home that she cannot win. This story takes you behind the closed doors of a household in a war zone to tell how one mother struggles to keep her family together while confined by the silence the regime and culture imposed on her. It is about a tumultuous time in Iraq, money wars, siblings rivalry, ego, and a legacy of love and forgiveness that a mother left behind. This book is a tribute to the silent warriors in all war zones—the mothers.
“Haunting and redemptive. Compellingly told. The characters open windows for us on an unfamiliar world.”
– Karim Alrawi, Award winning author of Book of Sands
“A country at war, a family at war, and Bedria the mother in the middle fighting battles on all fronts. Al-Musalli’s eye for detail and evocative prose captures the brutality but also the beauty to be found in war zones. An often heartbreaking journey, but there’s also intense love and hope, and the chance to enter a zone few would dare. Ultimately, we admire Musalli’s courage to go there, the sure craft, and Bedria’s prayers for her children become ours for the world.”
– David Geary - Playwright, Screenwriter, Author
