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Unbroken Threads
- Narrated by: Lisa Beacom
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
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Unbroken Threads
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Summary
"A terrific debut, and so very timely. With smart writing and compassion, Klepper offers us a look into the hearts of two women: a Syrian immigrant hoping to find a home in the USA, and the volunteer lawyer whose work brings a second chance at life not only to her client, but to herself as well." (Julie Lawson Timmer, author of Mrs. Saint and the Defectives)
Jessica Donnelly's life is beginning to unravel. When the attorney turned stay-at-home mom tentatively volunteers to represent Amina Hamid, a woman seeking asylum, Jessica must learn an unfamiliar area of the law. Soon, rising opposition to Muslim immigration and unexpected prejudices put her relationships on shaky ground.
Amina fled Syria with little more than memories that now fight against the images splashed on the news. Seeking a secure future and freedom from guilt and grief, she must learn to trust others amidst the reality of fear and hate.
To find stability, Jessica and Amina will both need to harness their own strengths, which may lie in connections that transcend generations, cultures, and continents.
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What listeners say about Unbroken Threads
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kirsten Carlyle
- 21-08-20
Thought provoking
I loved listening to the audio version of this story. It is about a Syrian refugee lady seeking asylum in America and the lady attorney who helps her. The story is very thought provoking and brings real life issues to life. The characters were believable and relatable. The narrator brought each character and the story to life. I would highly recommend this book 👍🏻
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nisareen Khan
- 03-03-21
Thought provoking debut
Jessica Donnelly is an attorney turned stay-at-home mom of her three children. She and her husband Danny, live in Annapolis, Maryland, raising their family. Wishing for a more purposeful life now that her children are in their teens and no longer so reliant on her, Jessica decides to dip her toes back into the legal world by returning to the workforce as a pro bono asylum lawyer at the International Asylum Project (IAP) in Baltimore.
Her first client is Amina Hamid, a Syrian refugee who has fled war-torn Aleppo in the hopes of being granted political asylum in the US. Their first meeting initially gets off to a shaky start when it becomes apparent to Amina that Jessica lacks experience in immigration law. A lawyer previously mishandled her case and Amina can’t afford any more mistakes. Jessica eventually persuades her reconsider. As Jessica digs deeper into the Syrian conflict and Amina’s past, her worldview shifts which puts her at odds with her husband and their close circle of friends...
Unbroken Threads is a timely and thought provoking read and was my first introduction to the author. The plot focuses on two women at a turning point in their lives, who are thrown together on a journey where they must harness their inner strength as they combat fear, prejudice and hostility as they search for their place in the world.
From the offset, the author did an admirable job in digging into the complex issues surrounding immigration, which ten years on from the Syrian conflict remain as relevant today. We learn that Amina was forced to come to America alone and with nothing, leaving her parents and missing husband behind. While agonising over their fate and suffering from survivors guilt, she can’t help wondering if things would have been different had she stayed. Initially Amina comes across as someone who is aloof and mistrustful of others. As readers get to know her, we realise that the barrier she wraps around herself is for protection. As further details of Amina’s tragic family history emerge - their suffering, their loss and through the sacrifices they were forced to make - the reader is able to put a human face to the immigration conflict.
I loved the tenuous bond that formed between Jessica, Amina and later Connor. The underlining message being that we have more similarities than we do differences. I’m so glad that the author chose to include Amina’s perspective as well as Jessica’s as it gave better insight into her character that would have otherwise been hard to grasp. This is mainly because the author at times focused more on Jessica when the main focus I felt should have been Amina. Jessica’s book club, her grandmother’s belongings and her relationship with her mother, while interesting, didn’t really add to the story. As a result, while I feel that I had a good handle on Jessica, I didn’t feel that I got to know Amina on a deeper level. I wanted to learn more about her struggle and background. So many questions remained unanswered unfortunately especially regarding the fate of her family.
Despite this small criticism, the way that the author (an attorney herself) utilised her knowledge on the laws of immigration procedures was educational and eye opening. I was equally impressed with the way she dealt with social issues such as racial tensions, bias/stereotypes/prejudice, survivors guilt, loss, identity, marriage and motherhood.
As a Muslim, I appreciated the research she did on the Muslim community. My favourite lines from the book were uttered during a touching scene between Jessica and Fayiz, a Muslim Syrian immigrant following an attack on his restaurant:
“We’re not all bad,” Jessica said softly, mostly to herself.
“I know,” Fayiz responded. “Neither are we.”
Overall this was a captivating thought provoking story with strong well defined characters that will resonate with readers long after the final page. Recommended.
I listened to this book on Audible which was narrated by Lisa Beacom. The narrator did a wonderful job of bringing the story and characters to life with their clear and concise narration.
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