After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

by Jessica Goudeau

Simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion --The New York Times Book Review

The story of two refugee families and their hope and resilience as they fight to survive and belong in America

The welcoming and acceptance of immigrants and refugees have been central to America's identity for centuries--yet America has periodically turned its back in times of the greatest humanitarian need. After the Last Border is an intimate look at the lives of two women as they struggle for the twenty-first century American dream, having won the golden ticket to settle as refugees in Austin, Texas.

Mu Naw, a Christian from Myanmar struggling to put down roots with her family, was accepted after decades in a refugee camp at a time when America was at its most open to displaced families; and Hasna, a Muslim from Syria, agrees to relocate as a last resort for the safety of her family--only to be cruelly separated from her children by a sudden ban on refugees from Muslim countries. Writer and activist Jessica Goudeau tracks the human impacts of America's ever-shifting refugee policy as both women narrowly escape from their home countries and begin the arduous but lifesaving process of resettling in Austin--a city that would show them the best and worst of what America has to offer.

After the Last Border situates a dramatic, character-driven story within a larger history--the evolution of modern refugee resettlement in the United States, beginning with World War II and ending with current closed-door policies--revealing not just how America's changing attitudes toward refugees have influenced policies and laws, but also the profound effect on human lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Book Club, Sociology, Biography, Social Justice

368 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 2020

Reviews

[Erin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is OUTSTANDING. It's going to vie for best nonfiction read of the year for me, I can tell. In the style of books like The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (which tells the story of the Great Migration through interviews with families who made that journey interspersed with chapters on the history and politics surrounding their journeys), this book tells the stories of two families who came to Austin, Texas as part of the refugee resettlement program. One is a Christian family from Myanmar and one a Muslim family from Syria. Goudeau tells their stories with such warmth and compassion, and intersperses context on the (highly variable!) history and political approaches to refugee resettlement over time in the US throughout. This book completely broke me. I have not cried while listening to and had my dreams filled with the stories of strangers in a work of nonfiction ever. I will not stop thinking of Hasna and Mu Naw, their families, what they have been through, and how we can help. Please consider reading their stories, too.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book more than five stars. 😭😭😭

What an absolutely stunning work on the lives of those seeking refuge - specifically Mu Naw (Karen Burmese woman) and Hasna (Syrian woman). My family connected with the Karen refugee community in 2007, when I was in middle school, and I’ve sat in homes of Syrian refugee families in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2019, so these sacred stories hit incredibly close to home and moved me to tears almost every chapter (read: listening to the audiobook bawling at stoplights)

It’s clear author Jessica Goudeau wrote from a place of deep empathy, respect, and care for the two women whose stories she captured with such sensitivity and depth. The chapters on immigration and refugee policy and sentiment during the course of American history were phenomenal, and I’d HIGHLY recommend this as a read for anyone who wants to understand some of the refugee experience & the ever changing tide of public + government sentiment over the past century.

I already know this will be my favorite nonfiction of the year and will be top of my list for birthday & Christmas gifts for friends & family. Please please please read After the Last Border, and let it move you into action for your refugee neighbors.

[Robert Sheard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is maddening, heart-breaking, and wonderfully written. Goudeau gives us the portraits of two women and their families who become part of the US Refugee Resettlement program. One family is from Myanmar and came to Austin, Texas after a lengthy stay in a refugee camp in Thailand. The other is from Syria. They also ended up in Austin after fleeing from Syria's war into Jordan. The book is the result of years of research and interviews with the families.

The portraits of these two families are so well done. It's impossible not to care about these people while reading about their odyssey. And as interludes between their families' stories, Goudeau gives us an overview history of the US Refugee Resettlement program itself, in all its iterations and cyclical swings as administrations come and go.

With the number of refugees worldwide today in the millions, it's to our shame that we still help so few. This book is essential reading.

[Scott Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! There is a reason this book was on the front page of the New York Times. It is amazing in so many ways. First, of course, are the amazing stories of two refugee families from Syria and from Myanmar. Their stories are heartfelt and I felt so connected to them, even though I have never been a refugee or been to their countries. The writing took me to those places and situations and made it real. Second, throughout the book I learned about the history of refugee policies and practices in the USA and, as I already knew, the current time is one of our lowest and most shameful times. Goudeau is a gifted writer, a dedicated friend to many, and a compassionate soul for our refugee neighbors.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account of two female refugees living in Austin, TX. The author also includes chapters on Refugee Resettlement Laws from 1945 to the present. One woman is Karen and is married with a family. Her marriage, in danger in Burma and Thailand, breaks in the United States. The other is from Syria and her family has died and broken apart as people had to flee in different ways. I felt bad that they ended up in Texas. Austin is a pretty liberal area of Texas and Texas loves refugees, but the pay is low, housing is expensive and Medicaid isn’t usually available to adults, and Texas didn’t expand it. It also doesn’t include dental care. The refugees struggle to get by but becomes harder once Trump comes to office. In fact the Syrian refugee ends up separated from family when Trump declares the Muslim Ban when they’re in the air and heading to the US. I was glad the author knew about the Karen and didn’t call them Burmese, she says she spent two summers in Northern Thailand and the largest Karen refugee camp is in Tak, a Northern Thai province. They’re the second largest ethic group in the world without their own country. Their land was broken into 3 countries in an 1908 treaty Siam signed with the British and French. I was more disappointed in the author’s knowledge of her Syrian refugee. Their story in Syria is told, but she fails to ascertain what ethnic group she is. Mostly Kurds were accepted into the US Resettlement Program. The Kurds are a people broken into several countries after 1918 when the Ottoman Empire broke up. They are the largest ethnic group in the world without a country. Colonial powers broke up the Ottoman lands. She might not be Kurd but I’m shocked the author didn’t find out.

[Lonita Shirk Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories of these two refugee women are heartbreaking but I needed to hear about their journeys and the refugee resettlement program in the US. I highly recommend this book because it simultaneously gives a glimpse into the personal lives of refugees, their traumatic experiences in their home countries as well as their adjustment into the US and the overarching political scene in the US with the resettlement program. The author knew and interviewed the two main characters as well as researched the Syrian War, the resettlement program, and had experiences in Thailand.

[Kazen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was a complicated experience because even though I loved it from the beginning - the narrative nonfiction is stellar - I started having questions. Is the author the best person to be telling this story? Does it matter, as long as the story is being told? Is this super white gaze-y, or am I reading into things too much?

Luckily I documented all of my thoughts as I went in a Booktube Prize vlog. Watch that for the full story but in short - good narrative nonfiction, the discussions about policy quickly got boring, good intentions, glad the story is being told... but misgivings make it hard to give more than three stars.

Content notes include: war, violence, trauma, sexual assault

[Kelli Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book took me a while to digest but it was FULL of information and beautiful haunting story. Jessica was a gem to these women and to here these stories told is a blessing and call to do something for our refugees. The history of the US resettlement policies is something I had never fully heard and Jessica does a superb job at making it understandable and something I needed to hear. I have been to a Middle Eastern country, I have seen poverty first hand, and I wasn't there during war time but to hear of what is occurring, we can't sit idol and do nothing. That isn't humane. I want to figure out how I can serve any refugees in my area, to help them better adjust to their new lives here. This book was a call to do something for sure, and opened my eyes to those in our country that didn't do what they had the power to do....

[Kim Becker (MIDDLE of the Book MARCH) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for the Booktube prize. Star rating to follow after the round is judged.

[Kylie Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I thought this book was a contemporary fiction book, so I was surprised that it read so factually in the beginning. But, then, as I learned more about the history of immigration laws and the story of two refugee women, I grew to appreciate The Last Border.

I felt that Goudeau did a really great job at structuring her book to make you interested, while still providing you with enough background to help you frame the stories of the refugees.

With the election coming up, I would urge people to read more about immigration and—if you are like me and don’t necessarily want to comb through news articles and data reports—this book helped me see hard truths about our foreign policy.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh! Oh! This book was so good. Its the first book in a while where I feel that 5 stars isn’t enough. I started it only a few days ago and I truly couldn’t put it down.

The stories of two refugee women in Austin, Texas stirred me in a way few other stories ever have. I cried so many times while reading this book. It mixes chapters of Hasna and Mu Naw’s stories with facts about the history of refugee resettlement in the US, and the human toll taken by anti-refugee sentiment from the top down in recent years.

So necessary, so gripping. I’ll be recommending this to everyone I know. (Seriously!)

[Terra Brimberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a timely book! Jessica Goudeau does a great job of telling difficult personal stories combined with a deep-dive into the immigration history of our country. This is well worth reading and you will learn so much about the beautiful people that are forced out of their own homes and countries and come to the US to start again - and we sure don't make it an easy journey for them. I promise it will make you take a whole new look at what you think might be the "immigration problem" in our country.

[Logan Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

A combination of personal stories and informative summaries that results in an impactful glimpse into refugees and the historical development of refugee policy. This book shows how big decisions, trends, and events affect real people. I pray the US reverses the trends we've seen the past 5 years to once again have a culture and policy that joyfully welcome refugees from all religions all over the world.

Favorite Quote: To be clear: The writers who must lead these conversations and must be centered in any discussion are those who once identified as refugees. They must always speak first.

[Sarah Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written so well! I became so immersed in Hasna and Nu Wa’s stories. My only complaint is that switching stories each chapter felt a bit jarring
because I was so captivated. Jessica Godeau helped me insert myself into stories that grew my compassion for refugees. She dignified and filled out their life stories. She slipped in context about my country’s sentiment toward refugees over the years. She helped me to understand that each refugee comes with their own desires, expectations, traumas, and needs.

After the Last Border has sparked a desire in me to learn more refugee’s stories, through both written stories and relationships. If you want to grow in curiosity and care for your neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and friends who have experienced life as a refugee, this book is a wonderful place to start.

[Unchong Berkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a close up look at the plight of two families seeking asylum in the U.S., one from Myanmar and one from Syria. The accounts are told from the perspective of the matriarchs of these families, and it is an intimate, grueling look into the their lives in their home countries, as well as into the process of resettlement in the U.S. The most gripping parts for me were of Assad’s horrific treatment of his people in Syria and the refugee crisis that produced. The most eye-opening part was how difficult it is for some to escape terror and gain refuge.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will stay with me for a long long time. Reading this as Russia invaded Ukraine made the story more... Mu Naw and Hasna are incredible women and it was an honor to read their stories. My heart goes out to them and their families.

[Caroline Hedges · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone living in America on a nonresident visa, I have a empathy for anyone trying to make a life in a foreign country. What the two women lived through in their home countries is harrowing, desperate and heartbreaking. To live in fear every day, to know your home could be destroyed, your children taken from you and brutalized, I applaud these women for making tough choices in appalling circumstances.

I thought the author did a great job of bringing these women's hardships to life both in their home countries and in America. The refugee resettlement program is something that every decent country should have, It is sad to see the anger and frustration bubble up across America and Europe for 'these people'. Surely everyone should be reading these people's stories, learning about what it is they are escaping from, how when they arrive in their relocated country they aren't given everything for free.

This book has been written at just the right time, I hope it finds its way into libraries and bookshops of America and that people will take the time to read it and show compassion for refugees from any country.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of After the Last Border in a Goodreads giveaway, so thank you to Viking for providing print copies. The stories of Mu Naw and Hasna were both harrowing and inspiring, and I admire Jessica Goudreau for doing her utmost to get them right. I have always felt empathy toward refugees, but news stories more often than not turn people into numbers. I didn't need any persuading to believe that the United States should welcome refugees, and my hope is that those who doubt the humanity of the millions of displaced people around the world will read this book. (Unfortunately I have my doubts that they will be inclined to do so).

The author put the two women's stories into context by interspersing chapters about the history of U.S. immigration policy from 1880-2018 throughout the book in a way that didn't make me feel bogged down with facts before returning to Mu Naw and Hasna's accounts of their personal experiences. Recommendations for further reading at the end of the book will keep me reading about this topic.

[Aimee W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and heart-breaking. I’ve been incredibly blessed to work with refugees in other countries but this book has inspired me to look for opportunities to meet the refugees in my own community. The way Jessica has woven the stories of two women and their families with the history and policy of the US with regard to refugees is absolutely phenomenal. I cannot recommend this book enough. I want every American to read this and to begin to grasp what it means to be a refugee and how these precious people have come to be in this situation.

“No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” —Warsan Shire

[Donna Hester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating way to tell two such personal stories intertwined with historical data. I challenge anyone to read it and not feel more connected to the plight of refugees. It packs a wallop but at the same time the stories are so delicately told that the seismic shift sneaks up on you. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. It’s one of those books that will forever change the way people act.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fascinating, informative, and sobering! I loved how the author wove together the personal stories of two refugee families inside of the history of refugee resettlement in the US.

I recommend reading it though. It was a little difficult to keep track on audio of the shifting timelines and storylines.

[Katie Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is INCREDIBLE. The writing is beautiful, the stories of the resilient refugee families will be ones I think about for a long time, and the information about the history of refugee policy in the US was so well-researched and put together. So good.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compassionate, carefully crafted book about those who have been displaced by war and oppression. It inspired me to read more about refugee policy in general, as well as brush up on the history that I’d forgotten from school (like McCarthyism and The Patriot Act).

After the Last Border demonstrates how woefully ignorant the average American is when it comes to the refugee process. There’s so much on the individual level and behind the scenes that we don’t see—the difficulties before, during, and after. This book bears witness to the struggles of two refugees and their families, telling the stories of a woman from Daraa, Syria at the outbreak of the civil war as well as that of a Karen woman from Myanmar, with both of them being relocated to Austin, Texas.

These two narratives are interspersed with a chronology of refugee policy in the United States. I’d classify this as a “nonfiction novel,” since the narrative portions required some artistic invention. The account even traces up to the present day, demonstrating the added difficulties that resulted from the Trump administration’s “Muslim ban” and the rebranding of family reunification to “chain migration.” I hadn’t considered how the services around refugees had been dismantled as a result of that policy change; now, we will have to rebuild those networks. And I hope that the family reunification principle will become front and center again so that refugees can survive and thrive with their loved ones.

At first, I was concerned that this book might repeat the mistakes of American Dirt, but from the foreword and afterword, it’s clear that Goudeau has treated this topic with sensitivity and compassion. The afterword in particular addresses the collaborative creation process of this book through her interviews with the two women and explains the reasoning behind her narrative choices, all of which gave me a deep respect for her integrity as an author. Goudeau does not include herself in this narrative at all, instead ensuring that the story remains centered on the refugees and their stories. She also includes a list of books written by refugees in the appendix for further reading.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Soneela Nankani, who did a fantastic job reading in a clear but dynamic voice. I could listen to her read books all day. (And I just now realized that I listened to her read Aru Shah and the End of Time!)

On the downside, I felt distant from the secondary figures in these stories, but that was by design, as the author explains in the afterword. In an effort to make the work as anonymous as possible, characterizing details were omitted. My other two complaints are quite shallow and subjective:

1. The book was too long for my tastes. I understand, though, that the author must’ve had a tremendous amount of raw material, so it’s likely much shorter than the original draft. Plus, these are real people’s lives, and I’m sure there are portions of their own stories that they felt were important to include.

2. The focus on the minutiae bored me at times, since real life involves a lot of waiting around. That being said, witnessing the difficulties in daily tasks through the eyes of a refugee is valuable. It just doesn’t always make for a riveting reading experience.

Overall, After the Last Border is a well-researched book designed to pull on the heartstrings. The author’s intent was clearly to show a general American audience—through an accessible style—the struggles of refugees. It is a call to action, delivering a universal message of empathy and humanity.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-breaking yet hopeful; inspiring yet infuriating.
This book was amazing. A great combo of history and personal stories.
The writing was beautiful. It was neat this was written in Austin. I feel like I've been in those apartments with their flimsy furniture. I have drank tea with people from far away, both refugees and economic immigrants.
There is so much goodness in our people and systems and such craziness too.
I am so glad this was written and hope many read, care, and try to continually hold the USA to our high ideals in practical ways.
There are so many difference between refugees, except they all have complex trauma. But I have heard about people like the Syrian family who had a nice house and life and war ended that and while they are safer in America their quality of life isn't better (want more of those stories read The Ungrateful Refugee). While the other family had been in tents in camps so both their safety and overall quality of life is better in the states. I wonder if her mother was more like Hasna and Hasna's kids are more like her?
Anyway, read this book and pray for peace and be welcoming!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was trmy last book of 2020, and what a fitting end to the year it was. This book just blew me away, one of the best I read this year. The author tells the story of America's history of refugee settlement, from ugly horrors such as turning back a ship of Jews who returned to Germany and died in the death camps to opening our borders to accommodate people displaced by wars in Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s to the decision by the current administration to end much of existing refugee policy that promoted family reunification. This history is told through the stories of two women who emigrate to Austin, Texas, one a Christian woman from Myanmar and the other a Muslim woman from Syria. Mu Naw arrived in 2007 when refuge policy supported displaced families in ways it did not when Hasna emigrated from Syria in 2016--the policies of the current administration meant that her family members could not join her. The author alternates the story of these two women and their lives in their own countries and then their lives in America--showing the desperation that led them to leave their own countries and the best and worst of life in America. I am hoping the author will write more about Hasna and her family in the future as her story in America started later than Mu Naw's. A gripping, highly readable book and an appropriate end to 2020 when we look ahead to a new administration that we hope will have a more expansive and humanitarian view about refugees

[Jenny Leitsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite kind of nonfiction: gorgeous storytelling coupled with smart research. One of my favorite books of the year. I loved reading Hasna's and Mu Naw's stories interspersed with little chapters about America's treatment of refugees from the 1880s to present day. I was especially interested in learning about how history has differentiated among refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers. Embarrassingly enough, I have often clumped the three together, which Goudeau hints as part of a larger problem in public understanding of and empathy towards refugees. The author's notes at the end clarified her purpose and process for writing, explaining how Hasna and Mu Naw helped dictate the direction of the book and emphasizing the ever-present threat to their safeties.

[sonny ☀️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is such an informative and powerful story. it’s a masterclass in how to delicately tell what needs to be told and hide what needs to be hidden, to paraphrase the author in the afterword. i feel like i can speak more on refugee and immigration issues now because this book really helped me understand not only the policies and history of the policies, but also the individual stories of these two wonderful women and everything they went through on their journeys to safety. if you care about humanity, you should read this book.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mu Naw is a Christian woman from Myanmar from the minority Karen culture, who moves to Austin, Texas, and finds herself in a poorly maintained apartment with no support. She and her husband struggle to learn a new language and to support their family, with Mu Naw finding greater success than her husband. Hasna is a Muslim women from Syria, whose home and neighborhood are destroyed, and whose children seek safety by moving to neighboring Lebanon and Turkey. She decides to move to the U.S., after being provided assurances that her family will be given priority. Sadly, the immigration policies are changed by President Trump, with a specific ban on Muslim immigrants. Interwoven between these two stories is a long history of immigration law in the U.S. The hardships for refugees are real, and Goudreau writes well; however, like others, I found the history lesson to be very distracting.

[Victoria Hoppes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most powerful book I have read so far this year. It tells the story of two refugee families as they experience the process of resettlement, as well as giving the reader a general history of refugee resettlement policies in the United States. The stories are both heartbreaking and breathtaking, and I learned a lot. I appreciate the author's style and the care she took in sharing these stories.

[Joey Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important read for anyone considering helping refugees. The two stories were unrelated, but are both valuable as examples of what life as a refugee is like. The story of Syrian refugees is remarkably similar to the families we’re helping with, so it was helpful to think about some of things they might be facing