Everyone should read this book. What a powerful read. Captivating from the first chapter.

This was my first experience reading Dina Nayeri’s work & it makes me want to read all her books.

She touches on various important topics, including genocide, trauma, religion, faith, migration, & more.

This is a book that many, many people right now could benefit from reading and thinking very hard about, and then reflecting extra super hard about their life choices. (I am not excluded from this!)

I clicked "Request" on NetGalley for this one on an impulse, and I'm glad I did. The topic seemed interesting and relevant, and that turned out to very much be the case. I'm always curious about books like this that cover such broad topics, how they could possibly claim to cover all the available avenues of inquiry, and if they don't, how they choose to limit and structure their books. For Who Gets Believed? the author—a refugee from Iran who fled the country with her mother when she was eight because her mother was a Christian, and then became a refugee in middle America—the answer is that she weaves her personal narrative throughout, and covers topics that relate to things that she has experienced. Because her experience is much broader than the average citizen, she ends up covering a variety of subject matter, including the process of applying for asylum (mostly in the US and the UK), patient doctor interactions (with emphasis on drug-seeking behavior and women's healthcare), mental illness, family dynamics, and religious belief.

I would say Who Gets Believed? is about 50% memoir and what isn't memoir is influenced by it. This is a personal book, not an objective piece of journalism or academia. That said, it's obvious (especially given the subject matter) that credibility is important to the author for multiple reasons, so the non-fictional elements are always well supported with evidence, and when facts are unsure, that's always noted.

The reason I say that everyone should read this is because it is Nayeri's main point that we as humans, especially in the age of information technology where it is so easy to be fooled or taken in by false narratives, naturally rely too often on our own instincts, our heuristics, rather than on the more rational parts of our brain. There's a reason we have the ability to do both, think rationally and separately, and to take mental shortcuts. The two processes shore up each other's weaknesses. And when that balance is off, you get instances like the following: A young woman with the BCRA gene repeatedly asks a nurse to test her for breast cancer when having breast pain, and is refused and her concerns dismissed as anxiety, only to find out almost too late that she has one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, and she almost dies. That's some scary shit, and it should be paid attention to.

[4.5 stars]

This book is shocking, enraging, and excellent. In it, Nayeri, describes the almost impossible task that asylum seekers have in convincing immigration officers of the obvious truth. Nayeri shares numerous stories of asylum seekers who have been tortured and raped being told that they are lying and that their wounds are self-inflicted. They are forced to relive their trauma over and over again to suspicious officials. After all that, they are often rejected. Police interrogators in the U.S. use horrible interrogation techniques to pry false confessions from suspects, who are often minorities. Police are allowed to lie about almost everything. They wear down scared and confused people.

Dina Nayeri also tells the story of her own life. She was born in Iran and her mother converted to an evangelical, pentecostal form of Christianity. Dina’s mother, herself, and her younger brother became refugees and eventually gained access to the United States. Dina struggled to adapt to the United States, which was made harder because she is neurodivergent. Throughout her life she struggled with her belief and her desire to be believed.

This book is enlightening and convicting in many ways. I’m ashamed of the United States and European countries. We need to make our countries worthy of our lofty claims.

I listened to the audio version of this book. It was narrated excellently by Ayesha Antoine who has a wonderful British accent.

This is a lot of food for thought.

The author explores a variety of situations in which a person does or doesn’t believe what’s true, or at least true for someone.

Asylum seekers and the hoops they have to leap through are central to the theme, but there’s also mental illness, physical illness, religion, and more.

I’m not sure there’s an actual point beyond considering why you do or don’t believe someone and the value being believed can have for those doubted.

An important read about unconscious bias that sheds light on societal issues that are often overlooked by those who are unaffected. Interweaving a variety of heavy stories and case studies with philosophical thought, Nayeri first posts the question: why are honest asylum seekers dismissed as liars? before more broadly questioning, who gets believed? It is a thoughtful text that urges readers to reconsider what they believe to be true, and be open to changing perspectives when new information is revealed.

The text is informative with elements of a memoir – Nayeri includes personal experiences such as her views on her brother-in-law’s mental health challenges as an example of personal bias and re-evaluation. I did find that the structure of the book was a bit disorganized and difficult to follow, but if readers focus on the author’s thesis, this is a worthwhile read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Catapult, and Dina Nayeri for this ARC of Who Gets Believed?: When the Truth Isn't Enough.

Dina Nayeri is an Iranian refugee, academic and thought leader. She takes us on a journey of her life experiences and how they have shaped her.

I listened to this as an audiobook and really enjoyed it.

It made me think and challenge the way I form beliefs about people and situations.

We all suffer from unconscious bias, which is influenced by our individual experience of the world: where we grew up, how we were educated, our socio-economic status, and our cultural and political beliefs. It all shapes our thinking.

Nayeri cleverly weaves stories of her life into her philosophical thinking. Her experiences as a refugee, woman, academic, consultant, mother, wife, family member and employee provide a rich source of perspectives on who is believed in our society and the inherent biases that are formed because of how we see a person and what makes them worthy of being believed. She provides examples about her perceptions of her own brother-in-law’s mental health, asylum seekers, and prisoners who are later found innocent.

It is a fascinating read and one that will challenge how you form your thoughts.

Highly recommend.

Thank you to Dina Nayeri, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

In Who Gets Believed? Dina Nayeri, an Iranian refugee, poses the question whose experiences do we perceive as valid, worthwhile, and noteworthy in various spheres of the human experience: in grief, in seeking asylum, in the criminal justice system, in the healthcare system, in Christianity, and at home.

“‘I survived. I bear witness,’ says Primo Levi. But whose word is good enough? Whose description elegant enough? Whose performance artful enough? Not all testimony is welcome.”

This book was very necessary especially when it comes to the discussion of asylum seekers and who is worthy of safety.

Maybe I was misunderstanding completely but it felt like the author was saying her brother in law’s suicidality was faked even though he ultimately died by suicide. That was very disconcerting and I hope I’m wrong especially because she talked in depth about medical neglect of those who are not believed to be in pain or to be in need of healthcare.