Home Now
How 6000 Refugees Transformed an American Town

Quotes

"In this detailed, sensitive portrait of the city's revitalization by African immigrants... [Anderson] expertly captures the multilayered dynamics between Lewiston natives and African immigrants...The result is a vivid and finely tuned portrait of immigration in America."—Publishers Weekly

"This compelling account relates how 6,000 African refugees came to settle in Lewiston, Maine... Anderson relies on several voices and story threads to convey the complexities of assimilation: long-time residents, concerned about strained resources; bewildered, often traumatized newcomers; passionate, steadfast activists; parents determined to provide better lives for their children; and government officials grappling with ingrained cultural traditions...Readers will find lots to think about."
—Booklist

"It's a book that feels both current and necessary, a microcosm of the immigration stories we see playing out daily on the national stage."—Portland Press Herald

"[Anderson] chronicles the transformation of a formerly white town by an influx of Somali refugees, drawing on the perspectives of old and new residents...The result is a varied political picture."—The New Yorker

"The arrival of thousands of African refugees in a fading Maine city is a situation ripe for a writer as gifted as Cynthia Anderson. Home Now is immediately relevant and universally resonant, as it illuminates the explosive politics of immigration and explores complex issues around our relationships to places and each other. The richly told stories of Fatuma, Jamilo, Nasafari, Abdikadir, Carrys, and the other remarkable people in these pages will deepen and expand the ways that readers see the world."—Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times-bestselling author of Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11

"In this journalist's beautifully written, balanced, personal account, we learn how a former Maine mill town losing business 'like a mouth losing teeth' begins in 2001 to absorb 6,000 Somali, Congolese, and Sudanese refugees. . . . In discouraging times, such an honest and heartening read."—Arlie Hochschild, bestselling author of Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

"Home Now is a thrilling narration of the lives of the new Mainers settled in one of America's whitest towns--Lewiston, Maine. Cynthia Anderson humanizes the stories of the recent immigrants--many of them Somalis--who helped reawaken a sleepy town. As a recent Somali immigrant myself, I saw in this book a true, intimate, and timely account of what I live every day. This book should be read by everyone to learn about the stories, geography, tradition, strength, and resilience of their new neighbors."—Abdi Nor Iftin, author of Call Me American

"A compassionate and insightful account of the human stories behind one of the most divisive issues in American politics."—Farah Stockman, New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner

"Home Now is a breathtaking work of journalism and heart. Following several 'new Mainers' who arrive from war-ravaged African countries, Anderson brings her own deep Maine roots to bear as she illuminates their culture, assimilation, trauma, and homecoming. Her writing is graceful and clear-eyed and brimming with compassion both for the intrepid newcomers and the often-ambivalent citizens who receive them. I found it instructive, poignant, and riveting. We need this book right now."—Monica Wood, author of The One-in-a-Million Boy and When We Were the Kennedys

"An essential book to remind us that racism and prejudice will never be more powerful than what binds us together in the great American mosaic--community, family, faith, and ultimately, hope. Cynthia Anderson provides an honest portrayal of being a Muslim immigrant in Trump's America."—Ali S. Khan, dean of the School of Public Health, University of Nebraska