Absolutely, positively stunning! A must read for everyone. This is both well researched on the history of immigration while also providing a beautiful and inspiring story of two women and their challenges with coming to the United States. READ THIS BOOK.

In After the Last Border, Jessica Goudeau brings to light the other side of this anxiety—that felt by refugees starting a new life in a land thousands of miles away from home. With heart-wrenching stories of two refugees presently resettled in Austin, Texas, Goudeau shows how even after enduring a treacherous passage to resettlement, refugee families continue to be afflicted by bouts of depression and a crippling sense of loneliness. It is a cruel test of mettle to negotiate the survival of not just their bodies but also of their Native culture.

Mu Naw, a Karen refugee fleeing persecution from the Burmese military junta, is one of the first to be resettled from her camp in Thailand. Without any support, her family starves the first couple of days because they cannot figure out how to operate the stove. For months, she is haunted by debilitating helplessness at having to choose between rent and groceries, and most days end with her sobbing in the shower. After months of living a life sustained by charity of local churches, Mu Naw’s family finally finds a foothold. In the second story, Hasna is forced to leave her house in Daraa, the epicenter of Syrian struggle, as gunshots and bombings intensify. She moves to Jordan for safety. Once her house in Daraa is hit by a missile, the hopes of returning dwindle and she starts the process of resettlement in the U.S.

The experiences of Mu Naw and Hasna are two relatively successful stories from the checkered history of the U.S. welcoming refugees. It wasn’t too long ago that a ship with nine hundred Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany was turned away from the shores of Miami. The U.S. refugee resettlement program was partly borne out of a moral awakening roused by the Holocaust. During the Cold War, the term refugees meant European dissenters of communism. The program expanded its scope after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and continued, albeit in a stunted form, even on the heels of 9/11. The United States was particularly reluctant to admit masses of Syrian refugees, and that program came to a grinding halt after the election of Donald Trump.

Wow. What an undertaking. Jessica Goudeau seamlessly ties two heartbreaking refugee stories together to paint a vivid picture of refugee resettlement in the United States, interspersed with a history of refugee policy from the early 20th century to today. I am particularly impressed by how Goudeau handled her own white privilege in telling the stories of Mu Naw and Hasna, two women whose stories will stay with me for a long time. This should be required reading for all Americans, especially as the rights and dignity of refugees are being slowly stripped away by racist politicians. Hands down, one of the best books I've read this year.

Following two female refugees in Austin Texas Goudeau brings the refugee problem a human touch. Alternating between the stories of Mu Naw, a Christian refugee from Myanmar and Hasna al-Salam, a Muslim who fled Syria Goudeau tells of refugees with whom she has been working for more than a decade. The Myranmar Christian and the Syrian Muslim their reception is opposite. Hostility toward Muslims only increased under Trump. The author has been friends with both women for many years. I enjoyed the afterward in which the author brings up the problems when another person’s story but feels that leveraging one’s privilege is necessary so readers can hear stories which might never be told.

After the Last Border, written by Jessica Goudreau, tells the tale of two women and their families, and their struggles through the process to resettle to the United States. This book casts a light on the history of the refugee re-location process, and how it has changed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. I really like how the author interspersed the history between the narratives of the 2 women and their families.

Furthermore, this book humanizes the people who seek refugee status, and should help anyone empathize with the trauma that occurs to these people before applying to a new country safe haven, and help U.S. citizens understand why it is important to allow people from war-torn areas to seek refuge in the U.S. and how lucky we are as American citizens, to live in a country that is safe and is able to provide help to people from other parts of the world.

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.