A really compelling read that probably affected many lives in a similar way during Trump’s administration. The story looks at the experience of refugees attempting to find safety in the West, it follows our main couple during a time when Trump aimed to limited Muslim extremists entering the USA.
No Light To Land On follows the lives of married couple Sama and Hadi, refugees from Syria and swaps narration between the two and their experiences throughout. We start with Sama, who is five months pregnant and waiting in the arrivals area of Boston’s Logan Airport waiting for her husband, Hadi who is returning from a trip to Jordan where he buried his father.
It is during this time that we are made aware that Hadi has had his passport removed and is not being allowed to enter the country, as fate would have it the day before Trump has issued an executive order banning individuals from Muslim countries all in the guise of protecting his nation. This part of the book was extremely frustrating for me to read and I can’t imagine what it would feel like reading this as a Muslim or POC, and it’s maddening and upsetting that variations of this story were the sad truth of many affected by Trump’s ban.
As the story continues Sama learns of Hadi’s deportation and it seems to go from bad to worse as she goes into early labour and as Hadi is deported she gives birth to a very premature son alone and scared and without her husband at her side.
The rest of the book is set into short chapters which flip narrator and time! We go to the past in each of their stories and learn what their life was like in their native country and what the ‘American Dream’ meant for them and why they chase it. We also follow along as the couple go through a very tough time in their lives entire continents apart; it is both thought provoking and utterly gut wrenching.
If you want an emotional, thought provoking read then pick this book up. It’s not non-fiction but it could be as so many are going through or have gone through variation of this story and although it can be a maddening read I think it’s really important to enlighten yourselves to the feelings of so many that others have simply deemed dangerous.
No Light To Land On follows the lives of married couple Sama and Hadi, refugees from Syria and swaps narration between the two and their experiences throughout. We start with Sama, who is five months pregnant and waiting in the arrivals area of Boston’s Logan Airport waiting for her husband, Hadi who is returning from a trip to Jordan where he buried his father.
It is during this time that we are made aware that Hadi has had his passport removed and is not being allowed to enter the country, as fate would have it the day before Trump has issued an executive order banning individuals from Muslim countries all in the guise of protecting his nation. This part of the book was extremely frustrating for me to read and I can’t imagine what it would feel like reading this as a Muslim or POC, and it’s maddening and upsetting that variations of this story were the sad truth of many affected by Trump’s ban.
As the story continues Sama learns of Hadi’s deportation and it seems to go from bad to worse as she goes into early labour and as Hadi is deported she gives birth to a very premature son alone and scared and without her husband at her side.
The rest of the book is set into short chapters which flip narrator and time! We go to the past in each of their stories and learn what their life was like in their native country and what the ‘American Dream’ meant for them and why they chase it. We also follow along as the couple go through a very tough time in their lives entire continents apart; it is both thought provoking and utterly gut wrenching.
If you want an emotional, thought provoking read then pick this book up. It’s not non-fiction but it could be as so many are going through or have gone through variation of this story and although it can be a maddening read I think it’s really important to enlighten yourselves to the feelings of so many that others have simply deemed dangerous.