Christy Lefteri is the author of bestselling novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo, the story of a husband and wife forced out of Syria due to the war.
They have to make a perilous journey through Syria, Turkey and Greece to eventually reach the UK.
Christy says: "It's a story about this external journey, the dangers that they face and the borders they have to cross, but it's also a story about the internal journey, how they make it and how they find their way back to each other again."
The book was partly inspired by the experience of her own parents, who were refugees after the war in Cyprus in 1974. They settled in London, where Christy was born.
Her father was a commanding officer, and she believes he suffered from trauma, although she never heard her parents' stories growing up.
"When people end up in a new country they try to find people they feel a sense of familiarity with. That was one of the ways they tried to help themselves settle."
Christy says she feels British, but also has a deep sense of her Cypriot roots.
She spoke to us on The Last Word about the experiences of refugees, which she witnessed while working with them in Athens, and her hopes for their future.
"There are still so many people stuck in camps. I think the best thing for anyone would be to have a safe place to settle and have a roof over your head."
Listen to the interview in full by pressing the play button on this page.
