... simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion. This book should be required reading for anyone trying to understand the challenges of getting to and surviving in the United States in the Trump era, and it would make an excellent, subversive gift for those who believe that closing our borders is the best way to keep America strong ... offers a crash course in how shifts in public attitudes and, in turn, United States policy have helped and hindered people desperate to escape the poverty or violence in their homelands ... What makes this book so different from other works that tell similar stories is the talent and doggedness of Goudeau, who spent years working with refugees in Austin, and brings an insider’s authority to the page. But she also clearly grasps that nonfiction narratives like these rise and fall on the small details that reveal a character’s humanity; Goudeau understands the metaphorical power of a beloved courtyard where family gatherings will never occur again, and the fear inspired by the sideways glance of a newly minted government soldier who may or may not be a friend on any given day ... Reading After the Last Border will make you wish that more Americans would take a critical look at themselves and ask whether we are who we want to be, or whether we have lost our allegiance to the dreams that still inspire so many to try to reach our shores.
... compelling ... For Goudeau, who is a journalist and has worked with refugees in Austin for more than a decade, this work is not only urgent, it’s personal ... Goudeau intersperses these chapters with the evolution of U.S. policy toward refugee resettlement from the late 19th century to the current moment, giving readers just enough context to understand the scope of our country’s policies ... Based on two years of interviews and longer friendships, Goudeau’s profiles bear the hallmark of deep journalism based on trust, listening and extensive research. She not only puts names and stories to the refugees that we so often lump together as a faceless mass, but also painstakingly gets the details and nuance of their stories right. She does not shy away from detailing the suffering and sacrifice of each of their journeys; her thorough reporting combined with attention to detail and plot create a work of narrative-driven nonfiction that reads like the best novels ... At a time when discussions are happening about privilege and power and there is welcome scrutiny around who gets to tell what stories, I believe Goudeau’s book is an example of how to leverage one’s privilege to help tell the stories of those who might not otherwise be heard. Ultimately what makes this book’s truths resonate is the spirit of collaboration out of which it was born combined with Goudeau’s commitment to the highest standards of journalistic ethics. It reveals a trust and tenderness between journalist and subjects ... We are living through a time where our borders are more sealed off than ever, and those in need of refuge are being turned away. Goudeau makes it clear that our moral compass with respect to refugees is broken, the arrow spinning around and around, looking for the next place to land. Her deeply moving book points to exactly where that place should be.
Goudeau illustrates that though stories of refugees like Mu Naw are everywhere, they can be hard to access and understand, even for those who have known the refugees for years ... As Goudeau’s careful history demonstrates, attitudes toward refugees are shifting, and the current rhetoric surrounding refugee resettlement uneasily echoes the rhetoric of 80 years past. To keep history from repeating itself, it is time to understand the roots of refugee resettlement in the U.S. and to look fully into the faces of those who are being affected.
It’s obvious that Goudeau was able to gain the two women’s trust, resulting in compelling stories that offer intimate looks into their personal lives and uncover horrific details about what they’ve seen and experienced. Their histories emerge through alternating chapters broken up by excerpts that provide social and political background about American refugee resettlement from the nineteenth century to the present day. These profiles are sympathetic and ultimately profoundly moving.
Goudeau agreed to use pseudonyms for the two women she expertly draws out in this book. While the absence of pictures and real names makes it more difficult to mentally and emotionally connect with the two main characters, Goudeau rises to the reporting and writing challenge, showing how seemingly ordinary tasks such as struggling to operate a shower control amplifies loneliness and the loss of everything the refugees once knew ... [Godeau's] book may not change national policy implemented by a president reflexively opposed to welcoming refugees, but in bringing the stories of Mu Naw and Hasna to us, the author shows that welcoming them doesn’t just save their lives and their children’s, but that their contribution to the American story ultimately enriches us all.
Goudeau's work with a refugee resettlement agency in Texas informs her intimate portrait of two women whose families sought safety in the United States. By alternately focusing on the individual experiences of Mu Naw from Myanmar and Hasna from Syria, the author humanizes their departures from their homes, the complex and frightening refugee process they encountered, and their different experiences ... An excellent choice for readers seeking to understand the human effects of government immigration and refugee policy. Goudeau's sometimes heartbreaking narratives personalize the refugee crisis in ways cold news accounts cannot.
...compelling, eye-opening ... The author spent two years researching and composing her book. She makes effective use of third-person narrative writing and interwoven chapters as she portrays the good and bad times the two women left behind ... Jessica Goudeau’s After the Last Border deftly makes the case that America’s now politically threatened refugee-resettlement program is a humane and vital service.
...in the midst of this rekindled far-right fear of refugees and immigrants, Austin-area activist and writer Jessica Goudeau has bravely researched and written After the Last Border. Goudeau’s book is a much-needed nonfiction corrective ... The book is a bracingly empathetic portrait of two refugee women’s struggles toward resettlement in the Texas capital ... The book is especially ambitious in its dual function as an informative 100-year history of refugee resettlement in America and also a swift-paced narrative-driven work of nonfiction.
Journalist Goudeau presents a richly detailed account of the resettlement experiences of two women granted refugee status in the U.S. ... Her excellent interview skills and obvious empathy for her subjects make the family portraits utterly engrossing, and the history sections provide essential context. This moving and insightful dual portrait makes an impassioned case for humane immigration and refugee policy.
... moving ... In a detailed text that moves smoothly around in time, Goudeau effectively humanizes the worldwide refugee crisis while calling much-needed attention to a badly broken American immigration system. Sharp, provocative, timely reading.
