4.0
Between Everything and Nothing
ByPublisher Description
A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, this harrowing true story of two young men from Ghana and their quest for asylum highlights not only the unjust political system of their homeland, but the chaos of the United States’ failing immigration system.
Long before their chance meeting at a Minneapolis bus station, Ghanaian asylum seekers Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal had already crossed half the world in search of a new home. Seidu, who identifies as bisexual, lived under constant threat of exposure and violence in a country where same–sex acts are illegal. Razak’s life was also threatened after corrupt officials contrived to steal his rightful inheritance.
Forced to flee their homeland, both men embarked on separate odysseys through the dangerous jungles and bureaucracies of South, Central, and North America. Like generations of asylum seekers before, they presented themselves legally at the U.S. border, hoping for sanctuary. Instead they were imprisoned in private detention facilities, released only after their asylum pleas were denied. Fearful of returning to Ghana, Seidu and Razak saw no choice but to attempt one final border crossing. Their journey north to Canada in the harsh, unforgiving winter proved more tragic than anything they had experienced before.
Based on extensive interviews, Joe Meno’s intimate, novelistic account builds upon the international media attention Seidu and Razak’s story has already received, highlighting the harrowing journey of asylum seekers everywhere while adding dimension to one of the greatest humanitarian concerns facing the world.
Long before their chance meeting at a Minneapolis bus station, Ghanaian asylum seekers Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal had already crossed half the world in search of a new home. Seidu, who identifies as bisexual, lived under constant threat of exposure and violence in a country where same–sex acts are illegal. Razak’s life was also threatened after corrupt officials contrived to steal his rightful inheritance.
Forced to flee their homeland, both men embarked on separate odysseys through the dangerous jungles and bureaucracies of South, Central, and North America. Like generations of asylum seekers before, they presented themselves legally at the U.S. border, hoping for sanctuary. Instead they were imprisoned in private detention facilities, released only after their asylum pleas were denied. Fearful of returning to Ghana, Seidu and Razak saw no choice but to attempt one final border crossing. Their journey north to Canada in the harsh, unforgiving winter proved more tragic than anything they had experienced before.
Based on extensive interviews, Joe Meno’s intimate, novelistic account builds upon the international media attention Seidu and Razak’s story has already received, highlighting the harrowing journey of asylum seekers everywhere while adding dimension to one of the greatest humanitarian concerns facing the world.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities5 Reviews
4.0
Meredith Gardner
Created 10 months agoShare
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“3.5 stars. The true story told here is powerful and needs to be shared. I learned a lot I didn't know about the immigrant experience from this. But I didn't find it particularly well written.”
Catherine Eslinger
Created about 1 year agoShare
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“So many parts of this book gave perspective on the meaning of different ways migration is viewed and treated in many situations and countries. I've come away with a renewed sense that things don't have to be the way they are.”
Zoe Brill
Created over 1 year agoShare
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Emma Hubbard
Created about 3 years agoShare
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“Highly recommend this one. I learned a lot about the asylum process and current immigration policies. The story of the two Ghanaian asylum seekers, Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed, was heartbreaking and eye-opening.
“Over and over again Razak was forced to confront the same inequities, the same police corruption, the same blunt use of power that he had traveled thousands of miles to escape. Once more he had been rendered voiceless, powerless. Sitting in the dirty cell, it became clearer and clearer to Razak that the West was entirely dependent on the clandestine industry of undocumented immigration and that few people were interested in seeing anything change. It was a secret that everyone was aware of but no one was willing to talk about.””
Jeremy
Created over 4 years agoShare
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“An absolutely essential read.”
About Joe Meno
Joe Meno is a fiction writer and journalist who lives in Chicago. He is the winner of the Nelson Algren Literary Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the Great Lakes Book Award and was a finalist for the Story Prize. The bestselling author of seven novels and two short story collections, including Marvel and a Wonder, The Boy Detective Fails, and Hairstyles of the Damned, he is a professor in the English and creative writing department at Columbia College Chicago. Find out more at joemeno.com.
Other books by Joe Meno
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