ALWAYS FORWARD: A Journey Through Fire, Family, and Forgotten Roads

by Shaveen Mahish Patny

When war breaks out without warning during a family trip to Crete, Elias Schmidt is separated from his loved ones and forced to move forward in a world that suddenly feels unfamiliar and unsafe.

Carrying only a small backpack and a sketch of two lions drawn by his elder brother, Nico, Elias begins a journey through towns and regions shaped by different languages, customs, and ways of life. Each place teaches him something new — about trust, survival, and what it means to belong when home is no longer a place.

Along the road, Elias meets Pavlos, a quiet boy with a deep sense of history, and Amara, a resilient girl whose strength comes from adapting quickly to change. Together, the three navigate closed borders, guarded roads, moments of fear, and unexpected kindness from strangers who share food, stories, and shelter despite the risks.

As the conflict spreads and hope is tested, Elias must learn how to listen before he speaks, how to understand before he judges, and how to hold onto compassion even when the world is pulling him apart.

Because somewhere beyond the chaos, Nico is still alive.

And as long as that remains true, Elias will keep moving forward.

Always Forward is a moving adventure about resilience, found family, and the quiet power of understanding different cultures when everything familiar has been taken away.

183 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2025

About the author

Shaveen Mahish Patny is a Mauritian author, who earned his way to building a life in Luxembourg, carrying with him a passion for European culture long before he arrived there. As a child, watching football—especially the 2006 Football World Cup—sparked his fascination with how people of different nations, backgrounds, and languages could come together through shared moments.

That early spark became a lifelong journey, leading him across Europe to explore its histories, landscapes, and the countless cultures that shape it. Along the way, he met people whose kindness, resilience, and humanity left lasting impressions—experiences that inspired the emotional heart of Always Forward.

Shaveen writes stories about borders and cultures—those we cross and those we carry—about family, hope, and the courage to keep moving. He continues to travel, listen, and learn from the world around him as he works on the next book in the series.

Reviews

[Wendy Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read the description of Always Forward: A Journey Through Fire, Family and Forgotten Roads by Shaveen Mahish Patney, I thought a story about an eleven-year-old boy being separated from his family and making his way, in the company of some waifs he picked up along the way, through strange and sometimes dangerous terrain was far-fetched. I didn’t get far into the book when I realised I was reading a cleverly plotted with brilliantly created complex characters. The story flows in a measured way using descriptive prose. I became immersed in the tale from the first scene and remained engaged throughout. The author has a particular talent for using vivid imagery to create realistic scenes, whether it is a beach, village streets, a refugee camp or a ferry. I cannot fault this book. I congratulate the author and hope the book achieves the success it deserves.