Miss Ex-Yugoslavia: A Memoir

Written by Sofija Stefanovic

Narrated by Sofija Stefanovic

A “funny and tragic and beautiful in all the right places” (Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestseller author of Furiously Happy) memoir about the immigrant experience and life as a perpetual fish-out-of-water, from the acclaimed Serbian-Australian storyteller.

Sofija Stefanovic makes the first of many awkward entrances in 1982, when she is born in socialist Yugoslavia. The circumstances of her birth (a blackout, gasoline shortages, bickering parents) don’t exactly get her off to a running start. While around her, ethnic tensions are stoked by totalitarian leaders with violent agendas, Stefanovic’s early life is filled with Yugo rock, inadvisable crushes, and the quirky ups and downs of life in a socialist state.

As the political situation grows more dire, the Stefanovics travel back and forth between faraway, peaceful Australia, where they can’t seem to fit in, and their turbulent homeland, which they can’t seem to shake. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia collapses into the bloodiest European conflict in recent history.

Featuring warlords and beauty queens, tiger cubs and Baby-Sitters Clubs, Sofija Stefanovic’s memoir is a window to a complicated culture that she both cherishes and resents. Revealing war and immigration from the crucial viewpoint of women and children, Stefanovic chronicles her own coming-of-age, both as a woman and as an artist. Refreshingly candid, poignant, and illuminating, “Stefanovic’s story is as unique and wacky as it is important” (Esquire).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Apr 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781508254980

Sofija Stefanovic

Sofija Stefanovic is a Serbian-Australian writer and storyteller based in Manhattan. She hosts the popular literary salon, Women of Letters New York, and This Alien Nation—a monthly celebration of immigration. She’s a regular storyteller with The Moth. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Guardian.com, and Elle.com, among others. Learn more at SofijaStefanovic.com.

Reviews for Miss Ex-Yugoslavia

[jonerthon-437513 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a fun departure from some of my darker and more serious reads. The protagonist grew up in Belgrade and remembers it fondly for many reasons, but the geopolitical realities of the breakup of Yugoslavia cause her immediate family to emigrate to Australia. Her father does well in a career there, but the family struggles through the very common issues of immigrants thousands of miles from their home countries, and frequently goes back and forth. The story ends with Sofija in her late teens, having gotten a better handle on her identity and competing in a diasporic beauty pageant of other young women that had similar experiences. A delightful coming-of-age story that didn't sugarcoat how hard she and her family had to struggle.

[mbmackay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well written memoir of life as a young Serbian immigrant to Australia. The book gives a rich rendition of the theme of the child migrant growing up in a new country while maintaining links, memories and loyalties to the old country. The book also gives an insight into the hearts and minds of Serbs who were appalled by Milosevic and his actions, but remained Serbian stalwarts all the same.