Immigrated: A Memoir

by Nadija Mujagic

At the age of 19 and newly married, fleeing from her native country and still haunted by her demons from the Bosnian War, Nadija struggles to adapt to the completely different culture of the USA. Immigrant life cannot protect her from her abusive marriage, which magnifies and extends her war trauma. Isolated and lonely, she learns new life lessons, making many mistakes along the way. Can she face her war demons head on and rise above the horrors of her past to start afresh?

An inspiring, poignant and occasionally humorous story of one young woman's determination to achieve the happiness she deserves in the wake of a doubly devastating past.

Genres: Memoir

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2021

About the author

Nadija has written several psychological thrillers and a memoir series. In her spare time, she enjoys playing sports and electric bass guitar.

Reviews

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immigrated is an interesting read about a young Bosnian woman who arrived in the US as a young bride in the late 1990s. Much Of her memoir is about becoming accustomed to life in the US and adjustments she made. She references her former life in Bosnia, about surviving the war and how it impacted her and her family. I haven’t come across many memoirs from Bosnia so I read this one with great interest. Thanks to Pioneer Publishing and NetGalley for the advance read.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I began reading Immigrated, I suspected that the author had done a lot of writing. Her style captured my interest and held it. Moreover, aspects of her personality shone through. As I read I was impressed by her ability to share with her readers, to be vulnerable.

I learned about the trauma left within the survivors of war, from her own account rather than from a textbook. Immigrated is not a war memoir; nor a textbook. It does however recount some of the challenges faced by people who endured war and those faced by people who willing choose to become a resident in another land and/or culture.

One of my grandmothers came to the US as a young woman. I never heard much about her experiences of adapting to a different country. It gave me a deeper appreciation for my grandmother’s bravery and persistence.

I admire and recommend this memoir. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another well-written, interesting book from this author (her first which I read was Ten Thousand Shells and Counting). The writing is similar to her first book in that it is clear and concise, but this one has a tone of more healing and introspection. She provides more broad themes and observations on both being an immigrant, healing, and being a war survivor. You cheer for her as she finds her way to make a new life in the USA and is able to discover herself, overcoming so many challenges.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book, especially in light of what is happening in our world today. This book grabs you and draws you into Nadija's journey, her struggles, her honest reflection of her experiences. This book is superb in so many ways, and even the small language errors add to its pure, honest story. This is a book that sits with you in all the right ways.

[Susan Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Immigrated: A Memoir, is the story of a young girl trying to escape the tragedy of war torn Bosnia and conform to her new life in America. She quickly learns that adapting to a new culture presents challenges as well, and her marriage seems to be one based on questionable pretenses. At times the writing is broken and unsophisticated, but I wondered if this was intentional as the author learned to express herself more concisely in English. The author learns that education is the key to opening doors to a new future, and she appears to be happiest when she is taking classes at Harvard. The treatment she receives from her "husband" is difficult to reconcile with his desire to rescue her from war torn Bosnia, but she seems unfazed by his unpredictable behavior because she doesn't deem herself worthy of real love. She is thankful that he pays her tuition and ultimately, education provides her with the new beginning she so desperately needs. The author finds her voice more eloquently towards the end of the book, and again, I wondered if this was intentional as she is beginning to gain self confidence and hope for her future.

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Immigrated A Memoir.
A Teenage War Survival

This book is about Nadija Mujagic who grew up in Bosnia and was in the Bosnian war. It is about Nadija’s life after fleeing from her native country at the age of 19 moving to the USA and coping with isolation in a new country. Nadia marries an American called Matteo, and not only is Nadija still haunted by her demons from the Bosnian War, but she has also fallen into an abusive marriage, which magnifies and extends her war trauma daily.
Nadija has to deal with her demons from the war head on whilst dealing with verbal and physical abuse from her husband, making mistakes and learning life lessons with friends, family, and work. Eventually Nadija realises after being diagnosed that she suffers from PTSD.
From this diagnosis life can start to heal. A profoundly moving story of people who are brought up during a war and the unimaginable horrors they witness and how they need positive understanding people around them and professional help to heal and move on with life.
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't imagine What Nadija went through coming to America from Bosnia at age 19 and no one knowing her language, newly married, not knowing the country or customs. Her husband was strange, luckily he helped her with school and jobs. She had PTSD from the war she survived, and between that and her new country, it was hard. I won a copy of this book through LibraryThing.

[Nancy Willard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I started reading Immigrated, I was extremely frustrated because It felt like I was missing something that had gone before. I reminded myself that this was a memoir, and perhaps Nadija Mujagic was capturing her own insecurities at the beginning of her marriage and immigration. As Ms Mujagic gained more confidence, so did her writing. In essence, she was extremely skilled at conveying her vulnerability in her writing. I was saddened that no one reached out with help as she struggled, and suspect the confidence she portrayed outwardly didn’t reflect her inner struggles. I did not realize until I’d finished the book that there is a prior memoir that covers her actual years during the war. I’m going to go back and read that book. I suspect that this memoir would have been better received as a sequel to the first one. This book added to my awareness of the struggles of Immigrants. I appreciate the opportunity to receive an advance review copy for free in return for a voluntary honest review.