By OBERT MADONDO
I haven't read
Outcasts United, Warren St. John's "story of a refugee soccer team, a remarkable woman coach and a small southern town turned upside down by the process of refugee resettlement". But I stumbled on the
book's website and fell instantly in love with the book.
Outcats United is my story too. The soccer players in the book are from diverse racial backgrounds, united by the beautiful game and my passion, soccer.
Like the soccer players in Outcasts United, I'm a former refugee from a troubled country, Zimbabwe. Now permanently based in North America (Canada), I went through the sometimes unforgiving process of building a new life in a new country. I've lived in a small city facing change while not yet ready to embrace diversity.
So, I'm posting the following excepts from the information provided on the website.
The Book:
Outcasts United is the story of a refugee soccer team, a remarkable woman coach and a small southern town turned upside down by the process of refugee resettlement.
In the 1990s, that town, Clarkston, Georgia, became a resettlement center for refugees and a modern-day Ellis Island for scores of families from war zones in Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan. The town also became home to Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman who founded a youth soccer team to help keep Clarkston’s boys off the streets. These boys named themselves the Fugees -- short for refugees.
Outcasts United follows a pivotal season in the life of the Fugees, their families and their charismatic coach as they struggle to build new lives in a fading town overwhelmed by change. Theirs is a story about resilience in the face of extraordinary hardship, the power of one person to make a difference and the daunting challenge of creating community in a place where people seem to have so little in common.
The Author:
Warren St. John has written for the New York Observer, The New Yorker, Wired and Slate, in addition to his work as a reporter for The New York Times. His first book, Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Journey into the Heart of Fan Mania (2004), was named one of Sports Illustrated’s best books of the year, and ranked number one on The Chronicle of Higher Education's list of the best books ever written about collegiate athletics.
Some Reviews:
“If you only read one book over the next few months, it should be Outcasts United.” —Bill Littlefield, NPR
A "richly detailed, uplifting account of a young Jordanian immigrant who created a soccer program in Georgia for young refugees from war-torn nations . . . educational and enriching." — Kirkus Reviews
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