The Beekeeper of Aleppo
by Irvine Nugent
Book Author: Christy Leferti
Some books stay with you because of how they make you feel. The Beekeeper of Aleppo is one of those books.
It tells the story of Nuri, a beekeeper, and his wife Afra, an artist, whose lives are shattered by war in Syria. Forced to flee their home, what unfolds isn’t just a story about refugees—it’s a story about loss, love, trauma, and the fragile resilience of the human spirit.
Reading it, I found myself reflecting on how people carry invisible pain. In my work with leaders and teams, I often see similar dynamics—different scale, same truth. We rarely see the full story of what someone has endured. We just see the behaviors that surface: withdrawal, defensiveness, or silence.
This novel is a powerful reminder that empathy begins when we stop judging what we see and start wondering what lies beneath.
Four insights jumped out at me
1. Healing begins when stories are spoken.
Nuri’s healing begins not in escape, but in expression. As he slowly begins to tell his story—to name his loss, his fear, his guilt—he reconnects to life.
That’s what happens in conflict resolution too. People don’t heal just because a problem is “solved.” They heal when they feel heard. Creating space for people to share their story—without interruption or defense—is one of the simplest and most powerful tools of emotional repair.
2. Empathy thrives where judgment ends.
Lefteri never lets us forget that behind every statistic is a human being with a story. That’s equally true in the workplace. Every conflict hides a story of values, fears, or unmet needs. Emotional intelligence asks us to trade judgment for curiosity: “What might be true for this person that I don’t yet understand?”
When we lead from empathy rather than ego, trust begins to rebuild—even in the hardest situations.
3. Invite stories, not just solutions.
When conflict arises, resist the urge to “fix” it immediately. Instead, ask each person to share what the situation has been like for them. As Nuri learned, telling the story is part of healing. For teams, it’s part of rebuilding trust.
4. Remember that healing isn’t linear.
In the novel, recovery comes in waves—progress, setback, and progress again. The same is true for emotional growth. As leaders, we can normalize that. We can say, “It’s okay that this still hurts. We’re still working through it.” That honesty builds psychological safety.
There’s a line in the book that I kept coming back to:
“Where there are bees, there are flowers, and wherever there are flowers, there is new life and hope.”
It’s a simple truth, but a profound one. Even in devastation, life finds a way. The same is true in our relationships, our teams, and our conflicts. Beneath the rubble of misunderstanding and pain, something living still waits to emerge.
Our job—whether as leaders, friends, or human beings—is to create the conditions where that life can grow again.