After the Last Border

Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

By: Jessica Goudeau

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

"Simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion" (The New York Times Book Review)

The story of two refugee families and their hope and resilience as they fight to survive and belong in America

The welcoming and acceptance of immigrants and refugees have been central to America's identity for centuries - yet America has periodically turned its back in times of the greatest humanitarian need. After the Last Border is an intimate look at the lives of two women as they struggle for the 21st-century American dream, having won the "golden ticket" to settle as refugees in Austin, Texas.

Mu Naw, a Christian from Myanmar struggling to put down roots with her family, was accepted after decades in a refugee camp at a time when America was at its most open to displaced families; and Hasna, a Muslim from Syria, agrees to relocate as a last resort for the safety of her family - only to be cruelly separated from her children by a sudden ban on refugees from Muslim countries. Writer and activist Jessica Goudeau tracks the human impacts of America's ever-shifting refugee policy as both women narrowly escape from their home countries and begin the arduous but lifesaving process of resettling in Austin - a city that would show them the best and worst of what America has to offer.

After the Last Border situates a dramatic, character-driven story within a larger history - the evolution of modern refugee resettlement in the United States, beginning with World War II and ending with current closed-door policies - revealing not just how America's changing attitudes toward refugees have influenced policies and laws but also the profound effect on human lives.

©2020 Jessica Goudeau (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Jessica Goudeau's reporting and storytelling in After the Last Border are extraordinary, giving her the abilities to grab ahold of the reader and make them see connections between policies and people. This is nonfiction that reads as dramatic and grand as the best fiction. You cannot read this book and remain unchanged.” (Pamela Colloff, New York Times Magazine staff writer and ProPublica senior reporter)

"A richly detailed account of the resettlement experiences of two women granted refugee status in the US ... Her excellent interview skills and obvious empathy for her subjects make the family portraits utterly engrossing, and the history sections provide essential context. This moving and insightful dual portrait makes an impassioned case for humane immigration and refugee policy.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“It's obvious that Goudeau was able to gain the two women's trust...their histories emerge through alternating chapters broken up by excerpts that provide social and political background about American refugee resettlement from the 19th century to the present day. These profiles are sympathetic and ultimately profoundly moving.” (Booklist)