The Boy With Two Hearts
A true story of family, survival and hope, following our journey from Afghanistan to the UK.
Adapted for the stage and performed at the Wales Millennium Centre and the National Theatre.
Also adapted for the stage and performed at the Wales Millennium Centre and the National Theatre.
The filmed production is now available to watch online through the National Theatre Collection and National Theatre at Home.
The Other Boy (coming August 2026)
A story for younger readers about identity, belonging and growing up between worlds.
What people are saying:
Oli
“A moving story beautifully told. My problems shrank to their true size in the face of the hardships faced and strength of this family. Standing up for women’s voices in Afghanistan; the strength of family in a scary and arduous journey to the UK; the two hearts of Hussein both the damaged one he was born with and the one that drove his compassion for others. Strongly recommend. An easy and good read”
Kendall
“I read this book from cover to cover in one day – I just could not put it down! The journey of the Amiri family and everything they went through to reach their ‘safe haven’ of the UK, as well as the truly inspirational story of Hamed’s brother Hussein, had me in floods of tears and made me feel so grateful, not only for the wonderful NHS but also for the fact that I have never have had to face problems that are even remotely comparable to those experienced by this extraordinary family. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone – a truly inspirational read.”
David Gladwell
“A quite extraordinary book, a quite extraordinary story, one of the most affecting books I have ever read. The story of a family’s flight from Afghanistan and the year-long odyssey bringing them finally to Wales in search of treatment for the oldest son’s. Hussein’s, ultimately fatal, heart condition. Hussein, the boy with two hearts, his fragile human heart, and his boundless emotional heart: it is his story, his courage, his humour, his selflessness, his passion for helping others, his love for his brothers ‘the three musketeers’, and for his parents. When they left Herat in 2000 Hamed was 10, responsible for unobtrusively checking on his older brother’s health, ‘my role model, my hero’. It is a story of survival and of hope. To read it is to change you. I cried unashamedly, copiously, and often. Thank you Mr Amiri.”
Hamed Amiri 