In 1901, nineteen-year-old Ehmid Alley Awid Amerey moved to London, Ontario, leaving the dissolving Ottoman Empire behind. With conscription on the horizon, he fled in search of safety, adventure, and better economic prospects.

So begins Richard Asmet Awid's historical family biography on the Lebanese diaspora and the Lebanese pioneers in the Canadian prairies. While centered around Richard's close and extended family, this book also serves as a comprehensive history on the Lebanese migration to North America over the course of 135 years.

Told in accessible and engaging prose, this biography gives an intimate look into the under-represented Canadian Lebanese community and their remarkable stories.

Richard Asmet Awid is the author of Through the Eyes of the Son: A Factual History of Canadian Arabs and Canada's First Mosque: The Al Rashid. As an interpreter and a former teacher with the Edmonton Public School Board, he is passionate about educating others on the little-known history of the Lebanese diaspora and the community's cultural influence in Canada. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta.