Behind Jagged Edges of Silhouette Trees

A'isha is fifteen years old and lives in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Her homosexuality and plans to leave her village to pursue higher education and world travel are counter to her father's staunch Islamic faith--although he sustains a closeted, albeit rumored relationship with his business partner, Amir. When A'isha declares her goals and love for her girlfriend, she is tossed onto the street, left to battle cultural mores and social hypocrisy that threaten her dreams and escape. Tsewang is a sixteen-year-old boy from the Kingdom of Bhutan. He runs away from a monastery to escape the abuse he has endured, and to find his mother. In his search, he has several encounters that force him to deal with the conflict between who he has learned to be and who he truly is--especially when he meets a smooth-talking drug dealer who manipulates him into smuggling betel nuts into India. Through the alternating tales of two distinct yet parallel lives, BEHIND JAGGED EDGES OF SILHOUETTE TREES lends voice to the journey of self-discovery and to the common threads that transcend gender, sexuality, and cultural expectations in our quest for authenticity.