World Book Day 2023
Books can be a great way of sharing stories and ideas. For many peope from sanctuary seeking backgrounds, writing can provide a space to share insights into their lives and experiences.
Some members of the LRMN team have put together a list of fiction and non-fiction recommended reads…
Take Away (Stories From a Childhood Behind the Counter) by Angela Hui
This is wonderfully human story through the eyes of a 12 year old member of a newly arrived Hong Kong family working hard to make a living in the UK. The book gives insights not only into the family and how the child sees the world but also into life in the Welsh mining village where the family settle. It tells you more than a bookcase full of textbooks could hope to do.
– Mark, LRMN Immigration Manager
Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera
Signs Preceding the End of the World is an immersive delve into the experience of migration from the point of Makina, a young Mexican woman who is sent north across the Rio Grande to track down her brother, who has not been heard of for a worryingly long period of time. To make the trip she needs the support of various gangsters who either owe or are owed favours. As she moves forward something becomes clear to her: to be prepared for this world it seems all the memories and understandings of the things that made you what you thought you were have to be allowed to fade. Only then will you get the papers that seem to be so important if you are to survive. The thing is, the more these papers fit you to live in this new world, the less and less will they be about you. An utterly riveting tale.
– Don, LRMN Migrant Hub Volunteer
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Written as a letter to his mother, the book follows the author’s life growing up in America after emigrating from his native Vietnam with his mother and grandmother. The story covers subjects including intergenerational trauma, family bonds and coming out as gay. The writing has a poetic style that is simple yet impactful, drawing the reader into the emotional world of the author. I recommend this book because it really captures the feelings and complications of migration and integrating into a new society. It has helped me better understand some elements of my family’s own migration journey from the Caribbean to North America and UK.
– Salena, LRMN Comms Volunteer
Deporting Black Britons: Portraits of Deportation to Jamaica by Luke de Noronha
This book traces the life stories of four black men who have been deported from the UK to Jamaica, separating them from their families, loved ones and community. It offers an insight into the devastating impacts of deportation, as well as the harms caused by state racism and the wider British border regime. A definite recommended read.
– Hope, LRMN Campaigns and Communications Officer
The Other Side of Hope (2nd edition)
This is an amazing collection of short stories, non-fiction and poems written and edited by refugees and immigrants. It takes you into their inner world. A must read!
– Sabrina, Greenwich Borough of Sanctuary Volunteer
