This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman
By Ilhan Omar
4/5
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About this ebook
Named a Best Political Book of the Year by The Atlantic
“This Is What America Looks Like is the origin story of a leader who, finding no set path that would take a person like her to the places she wanted to go, was forced, and free, to chart her own.” –The New York Times Book Review
"Ilhan has been an inspiring figure well before her time in Congress. This book will give you insight into the person and sister that I see—passionate, caring, witty, and above all committed to positive change. It's an honor to serve alongside her in the fight for a more just world." —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
An intimate and rousing memoir by progressive trailblazer Ilhan Omar—the first African refugee, the first Somali-American, and one of the first Muslim women, elected to Congress.
Ilhan Omar was only eight years old when war broke out in Somalia. The youngest of seven children, her mother had died while Ilhan was still a little girl. She was being raised by her father and grandfather when armed gunmen attacked their compound and the family decided to flee Mogadishu. They ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya, where Ilhan says she came to understand the deep meaning of hunger and death. Four years later, after a painstaking vetting process, her family achieved refugee status and arrived in Arlington, Virginia.
Aged twelve, penniless, speaking only Somali and having missed out on years of schooling, Ilhan rolled up her sleeves, determined to find her American dream. Faced with the many challenges of being an immigrant and a refugee, she questioned stereotypes and built bridges with her classmates and in her community. In under two decades she became a grassroots organizer, graduated from college and was elected to congress with a record-breaking turnout by the people of Minnesota—ready to keep pushing boundaries and restore moral clarity in Washington D.C.
A beacon of positivity in dark times, Congresswoman Omar has weathered many political storms and yet maintained her signature grace, wit and love of country—all the while speaking up for her beliefs. Similarly, in chronicling her remarkable personal journey, Ilhan is both lyrical and unsentimental, and her irrepressible spirit, patriotism, friendship and faith are visible on every page. As a result, This is What America Looks Like is both the inspiring coming of age story of a refugee and a multidimensional tale of the hopes and aspirations, disappointments and failures, successes, sacrifices and surprises, of a devoted public servant with unshakable faith in the promise of America.
Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Omar is the first Somali-American legislator in the United States and currently serves as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. In November 2018, she became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, as well as the first woman of color to serve as U.S. Representative from Minnesota. Omar is a mother of three. She lives in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.
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Reviews for This Is What America Looks Like
17 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really Great insight into the refugee experience and the life of this incredible congresswoman.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really loved How America Looks Like by Ilhan Omar. I heard her talk on a news show, I have heard her being interviewed many times on news shows and wanted to learn more about her.I found a memoir written by her with the aid of Rebecca Paley of her journey a child growing up in Mogadishu, Somalia. She was young when her mother died, that she has no memory of her. Smallest of the family, she got into trouble for fighting a bully much bigger than herself who was harrassing a boy bigger than her. She, a preschooler told the bully to meet her outside after school!. Pulling the bully down and rubbing his face in the sand, she was filled with anger at the bully who made a vulgar remark about the bigger boy’s. She knew that people need to revere their mothers, not say horrible things about them. A crowd gathered and her eight grade brother was shocked to see what she was doing in the middle of the crowd. Her father’s response was to laugh. Nobody should be coming to my house complaining about my smallest baby.Ilhad had to make a temporary break from her family, her life was so prescribed by her family, the Somalia refugee group, actually byeveryone that she knee. Taking her children to North Dakota to study nutrition and finding what her true self was. A painful break but a needed one and it took resolution and determination. Read the book for more details and what lead her to be a congresswoman. I am deeply impressed by her and urge you read this book.