No man is an island

Author: Adele Dumont

Publisher:  Sydney, NSW: Hachette Australia, 2016

Annotation: 

When Adele Dumont was 24, she volunteered to teach English to men held in detention on Christmas Island. Finding the work rewarding, she later took a job teaching English at the Curtin detention centre, near the remote desert town of Derby, Western Australia. Dumont provides a thoughtful, insider view on Australia's immigration policies through her thoughtful reflection on her years spent working with limited resources among men who have fled persecution and difficult circumstances in their home countries and found themselves in detention, facing uncertain futures. No Man is an Island has been described as "essential reading for anyone who assumes they understand what the asylum seeker issue is all about, regardless of their opinion." (Sydney Morning Herald)

For more information:

• Hachette (publisher)
• Goodreads
• Sydney Morning Herald

We are here: my family's courageous journey to survive

Author:  Cat Thao Nguyen

Publisher:  Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2015

Annotation: 

Born in a refugee camp on the borders of Cambodia and Thailand to parents fleeing war in Vietnam, Cat Thao Nguyen tells the story of how her family came to settle in Australia and her experiences growing up in Western Sydney in the 80s and 90s. In this candid memoir, described as "unflinching in its detail of the many tortured steps to freedom," (Sydney Morning Herald) Nguyen unpacks the sacrifices made by her family as they struggle to overcome the scars of their past traumas and make a new life for themselves in a society that is not always welcoming.

For more information:

• Allen & Unwin (publisher)
• Goodreads
• Sydney Morning Herald