This book seems depressing in the first few chapters, but it digs into your psyche and holds on tight. The descriptive way this author writes is amazing. His comparisons to simple things in our American lives as seen through the eyes of someone so less fortunate is truly a gift. Before I read this book I had a low opinion of refugees, now I feel differently. We have so much in this country, things we take for granted every day, like food, shelter, freedom, choices.....not to even mention the fact that as women, we have so many more rights. We never think about the simple struggle for survival, and the fact that what refugees are truly seeking asylum from are horrors that most of us can never even imagine. This book opens our eyes to realities we perhaps don't want to see but cannot deny.