Beyond Hope

by Bariz Shah

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

Paperback

Reviews

[Isabella Barbalich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I studied with Bariz at university, and bought this book on my kindle when it was released last year. I don’t often read memoirs or non-fiction, but I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Bariz told a beautiful and emotional story, and I found it really interesting to learn more about his Muslim values and family life.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adding this to my list of books all New Zealanders should read (especially my fellow Pākehā). Not only so they can understand the racism and Islamaphobia that Muslim migrants experience here but also how the prison system dehumanises and tries to break prisoners. So many politicians and NZers take a punitive approach to people who commit crimes instead of trying to understand the reasons they commit them in the first place such as the underlying trauma that gives the prisoner the feeling they don't deserve a better life.

[Melissa Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read. Particularly for those of us who don’t know a lot of migrants and former refugees. I feel like it would be useful for those working in education to read this. The commentary around why teens act out and relating to them to discover their purpose and potential should be shared far and wide. The reason this isn’t 5 stars for me is because it’s quite preachy about religion and I get that’s a huge part of his journey but it just isn’t for me..

[Lynne Paterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful record of an immigrant’s problems moving into a different culture. The author showed tremendous strength of character and faith to shake off his delinquent youth, prison trauma and racism from all sides to become an inspirational fund raiser for a worthy cause to help fellow Afghani people. Read this book to understand the difficulties faced by modern immigrants from war torn countries.

[Helen Cummings · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about the life of an immigrant and refugee and the on going impact that childhood sexual abuse has on an adult. The first half of the book was very good but then the story petered out somewhat with too much preaching about the Muslin faith for me.

[Fiona Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read! Some factual inaccuracies in terms of the sentence of Intensive Supervision being a curfew (that's Community Detention) but a really enjoyable read and a book about hope and redemption.

[Ashleigh Veitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy inspirational read. The world needs more people like Bariz!

[Ursula Slonker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye opener to a different life

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illuminating

[Nicola Ekdahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this and really enjoyed it. Glad I read it to improve my naivety