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After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America
Top of the pile
95
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
99/100Critics
91/100Scholars
Author:
Jessica Goudeau
Publisher:
Viking
Date:
August 4, 2020
A journalist offers an intimate look at the lives of two refugee womenâa Christian from Myanmar and a Muslim from Syriaâas they settle into life in Austin, Texas, linking their stories with the history of the nation's refugee policies.
What The Reviewers Say
... simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion. This book should be required reading for anyone trying to understand the challenges of getting to and surviving in the United States in the Trump era, and it would make an excellent, subversive gift for those who believe that closing our borders is the best way to keep America strong.
... compelling.
Goudeau illustrates that though stories of refugees like Mu Naw are everywhere, they can be hard to access and understand, even for those who have known the refugees for years.
It’s obvious that Goudeau was able to gain the two women’s trust, resulting in compelling stories that offer intimate looks into their personal lives and uncover horrific details about what they’ve seen and experienced. Their histories emerge through alternating chapters broken up by excerpts that provide social and political background about American refugee resettlement from the nineteenth century to the present day. These profiles are sympathetic and ultimately profoundly moving..
