Zaraf English Books
In the Shadow of a Name
A novel by MAHMOUD ABDALMUNAIM
Born without a full name and without a story to call her own, Malak grows up in a shelter where lives are stored in files and identities are reduced to numbers. Between forgotten faces and incomplete records, she searches for the fragments of herself. As she grows, her voice rises against the silence around her, asking a question that echoes through every page: Can someone whose existence was never fully recognized ever truly heal? This is a profoundly human novel that shines a light on the hidden world of children without family support. It redefines identity—not as a line in an official registry, but as a right to be seen, to be loved, and to be written into the world.
MAHMOUD ABDALMUNAIM, born in 1991 in Al-Gezira State, Sudan, is a psychologist with a deep interest in mental and social health. His literary journey began in the field itself, where he combined human observation with clinical practice to write about the unheard voices and the stories forgotten in the corners.
This novel began as research for his master’s degree,