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Between 2 worlds: The Life of An Immigrant
What's the life of an immigrant like? A nomad in the middle of nowhere with an unknown future and unfamiliar faces lurking everywhere. That's the life that the Author of Between 2 Worlds, Birol Bahadir, had to endure as he grew up in a foreign land full of uncertainties. Born in a Turkish family but raised in an unknown land in Germany, Birol succumbed to western influence that halted his growth and put a question mark on his identity.
Between 2 Worlds takes you through the life of an immigrant living a life of despair entrenched with a feeling of alienation. It's a heart-touching story that provides the readers with a glimpse of an immigrant surviving in western countries.
It's Bahadir's tale of survival, living through the dungeons of Islamophobia and hate. This book provides an in-depth view of the life of an immigrant juggling the dilemma of identity.
This book is for everyone living away from their homeland to make a fortune in a foreign land. It's a biography/memoir that will urge you to find a connection with Birol's life. Drift into a journey with this heart touching story that takes you through moments Birol faced while living as a Turkish Muslim immigrant and trying to find his true identity.
Feelings of alienation and pangs of isolation afflict every immigrant family living in a foreign land, persisting incessantly in the initial days. Facing discrimination and hatred because of being termed a 'refugee' often takes away the will to survive. But, there's a feeling that keeps you going, forcing you to push your limitations with every challenge that comes your way.
Perhaps, that's what drove Birol forward. This book epitomizes immigrants' difficulties and problems like Birol, who eventually come out of it stronger than before. It is a beautiful memoir and a real life story penned by a once broken and battered Birol, who finally stood up to the occasion and overcame challenges bravely, excelling to his maximum potential.
Between 2 Worlds takes you through the life of an immigrant living a life of despair entrenched with a feeling of alienation. It's a heart-touching story that provides the readers with a glimpse of an immigrant surviving in western countries.
It's Bahadir's tale of survival, living through the dungeons of Islamophobia and hate. This book provides an in-depth view of the life of an immigrant juggling the dilemma of identity.
This book is for everyone living away from their homeland to make a fortune in a foreign land. It's a biography/memoir that will urge you to find a connection with Birol's life. Drift into a journey with this heart touching story that takes you through moments Birol faced while living as a Turkish Muslim immigrant and trying to find his true identity.
Feelings of alienation and pangs of isolation afflict every immigrant family living in a foreign land, persisting incessantly in the initial days. Facing discrimination and hatred because of being termed a 'refugee' often takes away the will to survive. But, there's a feeling that keeps you going, forcing you to push your limitations with every challenge that comes your way.
Perhaps, that's what drove Birol forward. This book epitomizes immigrants' difficulties and problems like Birol, who eventually come out of it stronger than before. It is a beautiful memoir and a real life story penned by a once broken and battered Birol, who finally stood up to the occasion and overcame challenges bravely, excelling to his maximum potential.
292 pages, Paperback
Published July 28, 2022
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 11, 2022
A touching life story by an intelligent author
If one needed proof that writing is therapeutic, then one should read this book. Easy to read because of the emotionally intelligent writing, yet uneasy because of the content. Racism, culture, bad and good neighbors, and religious barriers are just a few of the many obstacles. Sounds familiar? Yes, as the author stated: ‘This is my story, but it's also the story of millions of people just like me’. The struggle of being assimilated and yet preserving own personal identity. The life of immigrants in Germany through the eyes of the author as a young boy sounds gloomy and yet sentimental. For instance, when describing first love.
Throughout the reading one can sense the respect to family values and members, regardless of their educational status, rather, based on their integrity. ‘I always tried to preserve the good parts of my childhood by making them a part of my children’s childhoods;’ Later on, I could understand this statement better after reading the part where the author visited his childhood place as a distant visitor.
And here is a memorable quote about love when the author got married:
‘I let Manuela know me much more than I ever knew. Since then, my every tremble, every smile, every wrinkle, and every gentle word never went unnoticed. Manuela knew every meaning to my existence; she gave much more purpose to my life.’
And a mesmerizing moment of weakness:
“Some days I cannot tell what is real and what is not. I cannot differentiate between objects of my imagination and concrete memories of events happening in the real world. It gets so confusing that I become infuriated with my helplessness.”
And this takes me to talk about the secondary narrative of this book; the author’s ideas and thoughts about various aspects in life such as happiness, true love, family and more. Those experiences of ordinary life, with their small details about illness, children, trips, job, etc, described nicely as short stories, which then accumulated to become whole. Eventually, it’s all about finding happiness within the sea of worries. Such practical wisdom turns this book meaningful.
Some additional worthy text:
״there is a surprising thing about gratitude; it allows you to pray and wish well for that person without knowing it.”
“There is something about family, especially those who care for each other. Distance and time don’t matter to them.”
“It goes to show that nothing is truly impossible in this world, and I am ever grateful for being able to get where I am today. It made me believe in miracles.”
If you think of writing own memoir so it will be readable and relevant for the general readers, then read this book.
If one needed proof that writing is therapeutic, then one should read this book. Easy to read because of the emotionally intelligent writing, yet uneasy because of the content. Racism, culture, bad and good neighbors, and religious barriers are just a few of the many obstacles. Sounds familiar? Yes, as the author stated: ‘This is my story, but it's also the story of millions of people just like me’. The struggle of being assimilated and yet preserving own personal identity. The life of immigrants in Germany through the eyes of the author as a young boy sounds gloomy and yet sentimental. For instance, when describing first love.
Throughout the reading one can sense the respect to family values and members, regardless of their educational status, rather, based on their integrity. ‘I always tried to preserve the good parts of my childhood by making them a part of my children’s childhoods;’ Later on, I could understand this statement better after reading the part where the author visited his childhood place as a distant visitor.
And here is a memorable quote about love when the author got married:
‘I let Manuela know me much more than I ever knew. Since then, my every tremble, every smile, every wrinkle, and every gentle word never went unnoticed. Manuela knew every meaning to my existence; she gave much more purpose to my life.’
And a mesmerizing moment of weakness:
“Some days I cannot tell what is real and what is not. I cannot differentiate between objects of my imagination and concrete memories of events happening in the real world. It gets so confusing that I become infuriated with my helplessness.”
And this takes me to talk about the secondary narrative of this book; the author’s ideas and thoughts about various aspects in life such as happiness, true love, family and more. Those experiences of ordinary life, with their small details about illness, children, trips, job, etc, described nicely as short stories, which then accumulated to become whole. Eventually, it’s all about finding happiness within the sea of worries. Such practical wisdom turns this book meaningful.
Some additional worthy text:
״there is a surprising thing about gratitude; it allows you to pray and wish well for that person without knowing it.”
“There is something about family, especially those who care for each other. Distance and time don’t matter to them.”
“It goes to show that nothing is truly impossible in this world, and I am ever grateful for being able to get where I am today. It made me believe in miracles.”
If you think of writing own memoir so it will be readable and relevant for the general readers, then read this book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review