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This Is Where I Am

by Karen Campbell

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462553,585 (4.06)None
So we walked in the freezing night air, my daughter weeping into my neck, and me trying to shelter her inside my own thin coat. I could accept the sun had left us, but I struggled to understand where the moon was. At home, the moon and stars are so big, you can see by them, work by them through the night. Only thin glimmers here, cold specks in the muddy sky. Glasgow. A city of colour and contrast. A place where two worlds collide - and are changed forever. When the Scottish Refugee Council assigns Deborah Maxwell to act as Somali refugee Abdi's new mentor, the two are drawn into an awkward friendship. They must spend a year together, meeting once a month in a different part of Glasgow. As recently-widowed Deborah opens Abdi's eyes to her beloved city and its people, he teaches her about the importance of family - and of laying your ghosts to rest. All Abdi has brought with him is his four-year-old daughter, Rebecca, who lives in a silence no one can reach. Until, one day, little Rebecca starts talking. And they realise why she stopped. Heartbreaking, uplifting and unforgettable, This is Where I Am is a novel of loss and guilt, friendship and hope, and of what we can grow from the ashes of the past.… (more)
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Fictional story about refugees in Glasgow. Intro to each chapter describes places, buildings and activities in the city.
  wcbookclub | May 27, 2014 |
This Is Where I Am tells the stories of Deborah, a lonely Scottish woman getting over the death of her husband, and Abdi, a Somalian refugee who is allocated Deborah as his mentor (she volunteers at the Scottish Refugee Council). In alternating chapters we learn of both characters' pasts and how they give each other hope for the future.

It's a large book, but one I got through pretty quickly. The writing is excellent, and the story is moving, enlightening and ultimately uplifting. I really enjoyed reading about the contrast between Deborah's and Abdi's lives, and how having her as his mentor went some way to mending him and giving him a new life in Scotland. It's an empathetic portrayal of two people trying to get their lives back on track and it's a story of friendship and healing.

An excellent and different read. ( )
1 vote nicx27 | May 8, 2013 |
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So we walked in the freezing night air, my daughter weeping into my neck, and me trying to shelter her inside my own thin coat. I could accept the sun had left us, but I struggled to understand where the moon was. At home, the moon and stars are so big, you can see by them, work by them through the night. Only thin glimmers here, cold specks in the muddy sky. Glasgow. A city of colour and contrast. A place where two worlds collide - and are changed forever. When the Scottish Refugee Council assigns Deborah Maxwell to act as Somali refugee Abdi's new mentor, the two are drawn into an awkward friendship. They must spend a year together, meeting once a month in a different part of Glasgow. As recently-widowed Deborah opens Abdi's eyes to her beloved city and its people, he teaches her about the importance of family - and of laying your ghosts to rest. All Abdi has brought with him is his four-year-old daughter, Rebecca, who lives in a silence no one can reach. Until, one day, little Rebecca starts talking. And they realise why she stopped. Heartbreaking, uplifting and unforgettable, This is Where I Am is a novel of loss and guilt, friendship and hope, and of what we can grow from the ashes of the past.

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