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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America by Jessica Goudeau
3 reviews
bookmaddie's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
A transcribed oral history of two refugee families who arrive in the United States, as told by each family's matriarch (Mu Naw and Hasna). There are chapters about refugee policy in the United States interspersed throughout the narrative. Goudeau expertly explains refugee and immigration policy, yet easily switches back to a compelling, third-person writing style for the oral histories.
Goudeau took a lot of care to protect each family by changing names and other identifying factors, and I appreciated that she took a moment at the end of the book to address that. With an oral history, she completely takes herself out of the narrative, which I think was necessary to properly tell these stories. Even though she knew both families, it was their story to tell, and highlighting her presence in the writing of the book would have harmed the narrative by refocusing it on herself.
Mu Naw and Hasna's stories show different aspects of U.S. refugee policy and how different programs bring people into the country. Hasna's story focuses more on the hoops her family had to jump through to enter the country, while Mu Naw's story spends more time with her family after they enter the country. It was both eye-opening and expected to see the lack of support for refugees once they enter the country—how quickly money, language training and resources dry up, especially if you don't know how to look for them.
Of course, PTSD, trauma, and grief play big roles in both Mu Naw and Hasna's stories. The harrowing experiences they both had to go through before they were able to find (relative) sanctuary in the U.S follow them like shadows. Grief was often for the people and land they left behind, and I'm glad Goudeau took time to emphasize that. Life in the U.S. may be physically safer, but a lot of the community and love that people feel in their homelands is lost when coming to a new country (and one that is often hostile to immigrants and refugees).
This is a well-written, engaging, deeply researched, and personal look at refugee policy in the United States, and how it plays out in people's lives. Definitely one to read if you're at all interested in the topic!
Goudeau took a lot of care to protect each family by changing names and other identifying factors, and I appreciated that she took a moment at the end of the book to address that. With an oral history, she completely takes herself out of the narrative, which I think was necessary to properly tell these stories. Even though she knew both families, it was their story to tell, and highlighting her presence in the writing of the book would have harmed the narrative by refocusing it on herself.
Mu Naw and Hasna's stories show different aspects of U.S. refugee policy and how different programs bring people into the country. Hasna's story focuses more on the hoops her family had to jump through to enter the country, while Mu Naw's story spends more time with her family after they enter the country. It was both eye-opening and expected to see the lack of support for refugees once they enter the country—how quickly money, language training and resources dry up, especially if you don't know how to look for them.
Of course, PTSD, trauma, and grief play big roles in both Mu Naw and Hasna's stories. The harrowing experiences they both had to go through before they were able to find (relative) sanctuary in the U.S follow them like shadows. Grief was often for the people and land they left behind, and I'm glad Goudeau took time to emphasize that. Life in the U.S. may be physically safer, but a lot of the community and love that people feel in their homelands is lost when coming to a new country (and one that is often hostile to immigrants and refugees).
This is a well-written, engaging, deeply researched, and personal look at refugee policy in the United States, and how it plays out in people's lives. Definitely one to read if you're at all interested in the topic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia
shelby1994's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
"Better to be replanted in strange soil than to die uprooted in the desert"
I first glimpsed this book at Politics and Prose, but reluctantly returned it to its shelf because I didn't have a way to carry it through the event we were going to afterwards. I spent the next several months trying to find a copy at a local bookstore, only to stumble upon it at a used book warehouse in Nashville. I have to believe there was some serendipity at play, because this has become one of my most treasured finds.
Goudeau weaves together three narrative strands: Mu Naw (a Christian refugee from Myanmar), Hasna (a Muslim refugee from Syria), and the history of the Refugee Resettlement Program.
Once resettled in Austin, both women take over as primary breadwinners and bridge the gaps between their new and old worlds. Goudeau stubbornly draws out the hairline fractures that appear in their marriages as the economic responsibilities tilt, and how each set of spouses deal with the added pressure of unsteady marriages on top of the complex trauma of surviving war.
These stories brush away the idea that refugees owe anyone a well of bottomless gratitude. Hasna and Mu Naw both are grateful to be safe and appreciative to the resettlement program but landing in a safe country doesn't mean that their problems are over. They still have to deal with poverty, legal battles, and the guilt that their friends and family who were not as lucky as them are dying day by day in their homelands. Hasna in particular has to navigate the double edged sword of being a refugee in the 21st century; she is able to keep in touch with her children in Syria in real-time over WhatsApp, but also sees the deaths of her family members posted in real-time on social media.
It was a privilege to read these women's stories, and I hope this book gets a lot more attention in the future.
Read If:
1. You want to feel good about the work churches in American can do when they choose to
2. To learn more about the history of U.S. refugee policy
3. You don't know what to say to people are against resettlement b/c of "national security"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual violence
julied's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, and Violence
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