Recently released books that highlight the experiences of refugees

Books offer an opportunity for people of all ages to engage deeply with another person’s story. They can take you anywhere in the world and give you insight into the thoughts, emotions and experiences of someone who has lived a life vastly different from your own. For refugees and other forcibly displaced people, books offer the opportunity to share their unique stories, which often go untold and unheard. 

Today, there are more than 114 million individuals globally who have been forcibly displaced due to war, violence or persecution. That’s more than 114 million unique journeys of courage, perseverance and determination as people are forced to make the harrowing decision to flee their homes and seek safety. In the last year alone, more than a dozen new books highlighted the experiences of refugees from Syria, El Salvador, Cambodia and more. 

As you compile your summer reading lists for yourself or your loved ones, consider adding some of these novels inspired by forcibly displaced people from all regions of the world and eras of history. 

The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi 

What do a young woman from Beirut in the 1920s and a teenage piano prodigy from Aleppo in the 2000s have in common? They are both musicians who were forced to flee their homes to reach safety and are connected through time by a single piece of music. The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi tells two parallel stories: the first of Marguerite, a young woman born in Beirut in 1922. She leaves her home in Lebanon for Cuba, where she lives during the height of the Cuban Revolution. 

The other story is about Naïm, a Syrian refugee and piano prodigy who lost his hand during his journey to safety. As a resettled refugee in Falls Church, Virginia, Naïm struggles to adjust. As the chapters flip between Marguerite’s and Naïm’s stories, they show the spectrum of different experiences that refugees can have. But the desire for safety, shelter and connection remains the same. 

Wild Poppies by Haya Saleh 

Wild Poppies is a young adult novel translated from Arabic. It tells the tale of Omar, who has stepped up as the head of the family after his father’s passing. Omar is bookish and law- abiding and is determined to provide for his mother and siblings through patience and hard work. His younger brother, Sufyan, believes there are faster and more nontraditional ways to provide for their family. 

When Sufyan’s endeavors land him entangled with a violent group, it’s up to Omar to save his brother and reunite their family. 

My American Dream by Barbara Sommer Feigin 

My American Dream is a nonfiction novel that tells the story of the Feigin family’s journey to the United States and how that experience shaped Barbara’s life as an American. 

In 1940, Barbara Sommer Feigin fled Nazi Germany with her Jewish father, Lutheran mother and seventy-nine other refugees. Her family’s long journey took them through Lithuania, Russia, China, Korea, and Japan before landing in Seattle, Washington. Only a toddler at the time, Barbara grew up in a small town outside of Seattle and eventually pursued a thriving career in the New York advertising business. 

Decades after arriving in the United States, she discovers her father’s journals that detail their journey to safety that she was too young to remember. 

We Wait for a Miracle by Muhammad H. Zaman 

For refugees, finding safety is rarely the only concern they are facing. Forced displacement exacerbates other vulnerabilities that a person might experience, such as food insecurity, sex and gender-based violence and health concerns. We Wait for a Miracle shares an anthology of stories about the struggles refugees and forcibly displaced people face when trying to access healthcare. Often, refugees find themselves in countries with very different health systems from their own, and they’re often barred from accessing basic healthcare due to discrimination, limitations around local laws and language barriers.

These stories span seven countries — Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Colombia and Venezuela. Each story highlights the unique struggles refugees, internally displaced people and stateless individuals face. 

How You Can Help… 

The stories in these books detail just some of the countless refugee experiences in the world. If you’d like to learn more about the refugee experience and help raise awareness about their plight through books, movies, music and more, then consider joining USA for UNHCR’s Culture Collective.