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