Book & Movie Recommendations
World Relief Chicago recommends the following books and movies to learn more about the refugee and immigrant experience, to which we have added some recent podcasts:
Non-Fiction Books
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Enrique's Journey: The Story of a Boy's Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario
Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine Pohl
Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team That Changed a Town by Warren St. John
Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Tracy Kidder
The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community by Mary Pipher
Walking With The Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development by Bryant L. Myers
Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion, and Truth in the Immigration Debate by Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang
Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard by Mawi Asgedom
Fiction Books
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Say You're One of Them by Uwen Akpan
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
What is the What by Dave Eggers
Movies & documentaries
El Norte (1983) - online here for free in Spanish; here with English subtitles (for purchase)
The Good Lie (2014)
The Visitor (2007)
Under the Same Moon (2007) - for purchase here with English subtitles
For a Moment, Freedom (Ein Augenblick Freiheit) (2008) - more information here
God Grew Tired of Us (2006) - streaming on Youtube here
Half the Sky (2012)
Rain in a Dry Land (2006)
The Stranger (2014) - watch online for free here
Well Founded Fear (2000)
Podcasts
"Are We There Yet?" - This American Life visits refugee camps in Greece
"Abdi and the Golden Ticket" - This American Life's story aout a Somali refugee living in Kenya who wins a lottery that puts him on a short list for a U.S. visa, but police begin raiding his neighborhood before he can get out
"It's Working Out Very Nicely" - This American Life document what happened when the President's initial executive order went into effect
"The First Cow" by Abeny Kucha on The Moth
"The Refugees" by Andrew Solomon on The Moth
"Oh Captain, My Captain" by Pha Le on The Moth