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The Longest Wait
Routinely entering the U.S. after visiting relatives abroad, Grace James was arrested on July 29, 2016, by American immigration authorities and imprisoned for over a year while waiting for her asylum hearing in the country of her dreams.
A native of the small Pacific Island Nation of Kiribati, Grace adopted the Christian faith during high school, and devoted herself to missionary work after two years of university study in Fiji. Faith and self-determination guided her through so many things, including an abusive marriage, which ultimately led her to seek asylum in the United States.
Facing isolation, fear, and uncertainty in detainment, she discovered purpose through dedication to fellow asylum seekers wanting to learn English and win their cases. A daily journal, the basis for this memoir, was her constant companion.
A riveting personal account of the asylum seeker experience reveals the interwoven humanity found throughout each entry. An immigrant experience so universally misunderstood,
The Longest Wait is a story all need to hear. Set free, her dedication to fellow detainees, inspired the Dearyous initiative, a letter writing project for confined asylum seekers. Her story was featured in the Pacific Women's Network, and currently she heads Thrive, an international women's group promoting healthy living, and gratitude.
A native of the small Pacific Island Nation of Kiribati, Grace adopted the Christian faith during high school, and devoted herself to missionary work after two years of university study in Fiji. Faith and self-determination guided her through so many things, including an abusive marriage, which ultimately led her to seek asylum in the United States.
Facing isolation, fear, and uncertainty in detainment, she discovered purpose through dedication to fellow asylum seekers wanting to learn English and win their cases. A daily journal, the basis for this memoir, was her constant companion.
A riveting personal account of the asylum seeker experience reveals the interwoven humanity found throughout each entry. An immigrant experience so universally misunderstood,
The Longest Wait is a story all need to hear. Set free, her dedication to fellow detainees, inspired the Dearyous initiative, a letter writing project for confined asylum seekers. Her story was featured in the Pacific Women's Network, and currently she heads Thrive, an international women's group promoting healthy living, and gratitude.
336 pages, Paperback
Published August 31, 2023
4 people want to read
About the author
Grace James
72 books4 followersGrace Edith Marion James (1882–1965) was an English writer, born in Tokyo. She was both an author of children's literature and a Japanese folklorist.
Her Japanese Fairy Tales (1910) collected and retold stories from the Japanese folk tradition. It was illustrated by Warwick Goble.
Her Japanese Fairy Tales (1910) collected and retold stories from the Japanese folk tradition. It was illustrated by Warwick Goble.
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June 30, 2025
A timely book given the current US administration's more anti-immigration stance. This is an inside account of someone who made the brave decision to leave her abusive husband and seek asylum (to stay legally in the US) and detained for a year in jail. Grace is a great role model for staying positive and doing the best you can in the circumstances you are in, and we can all learn a lot from that. The US should accept her application for asylum and we should be happy to have her as a citizen (not even to mention the fact that our country's heavy role in climate change will likely flood her country of Kiribati to unliveable conditions within the next 100 years).
Displaying 1 of 1 review