A Good Country: My Life in Twelve Towns and the Devastating Battle for a White America
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- Create Date：2022-08-02 06:52:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Sofia Ali-Khan
- ISBN：059323703X
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Summary
A leading advocate for social justice excavates the history of forced migration in the twelve American towns she's called home， revealing how White supremacy has fundamentally shaped the nation。
"At a time when many would rather ban or bury the truth， Ali-Khan bravely faces it in this bracing and necessary book。"--Ayad Akhtar， Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Homeland Elegies
Sofia Ali-Khan's parents emigrated from Pakistan to America， believing it would be a good country。 With a nerdy interest in American folk history and a devotion to the rule of law， Ali-Khan would pursue a career in social justice， serving some of America's most vulnerable communities。 By the time she had children of her own--having lived， worked， and worshipped in twelve different towns across the nation--Ali-Khan felt deeply American， maybe even a little extra American for having seen so much of the country。
But in the wake of 9/11， and on the cusp of the 2016 election， Ali-Khan's dream of a good life felt under constant threat。 As the vitriolic attacks on Islam and Muslims intensified， she wondered if the American dream had ever applied to families like her own， and if she had gravely misunderstood her home。
In A Good Country， Ali-Khan revisits the color lines in each of her twelve towns， unearthing the half-buried histories of forced migration that still shape every state， town， and reservation in America today。 From the surprising origins of America's Chinatowns， the expulsion of Maroon and Seminole people during the conquest of Florida， to Virginia's stake in breeding humans for sale， Ali-Khan reveals how America's settler colonial origins have defined the law and landscape to maintain a White America。 She braids this historical exploration with her own story， providing an intimate perspective on the modern racialization of American Muslims and why she chose to leave the United States。
Equal parts memoir， history， and current events， A Good Country presents a vital portrait of our nation， its people， and the pathway to a better future。
"At a time when many would rather ban or bury the truth， Ali-Khan bravely faces it in this bracing and necessary book。"--Ayad Akhtar， Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Homeland Elegies
Sofia Ali-Khan's parents emigrated from Pakistan to America， believing it would be a good country。 With a nerdy interest in American folk history and a devotion to the rule of law， Ali-Khan would pursue a career in social justice， serving some of America's most vulnerable communities。 By the time she had children of her own--having lived， worked， and worshipped in twelve different towns across the nation--Ali-Khan felt deeply American， maybe even a little extra American for having seen so much of the country。
But in the wake of 9/11， and on the cusp of the 2016 election， Ali-Khan's dream of a good life felt under constant threat。 As the vitriolic attacks on Islam and Muslims intensified， she wondered if the American dream had ever applied to families like her own， and if she had gravely misunderstood her home。
In A Good Country， Ali-Khan revisits the color lines in each of her twelve towns， unearthing the half-buried histories of forced migration that still shape every state， town， and reservation in America today。 From the surprising origins of America's Chinatowns， the expulsion of Maroon and Seminole people during the conquest of Florida， to Virginia's stake in breeding humans for sale， Ali-Khan reveals how America's settler colonial origins have defined the law and landscape to maintain a White America。 She braids this historical exploration with her own story， providing an intimate perspective on the modern racialization of American Muslims and why she chose to leave the United States。
Equal parts memoir， history， and current events， A Good Country presents a vital portrait of our nation， its people， and the pathway to a better future。
Reviews
Dianne
，
The author， a daughter of Pakistani immigrants， writes a memoir combined with history。 Because of her upbringing， passion for social justice and education， she has lived in 12 different American communities， including Florida， Arkansas， Boston， Chicago and Arizona among others。 For each community， she describes the history of the vulnerable and marginalized race specific to that area。 She includes Native Americans， the Chinese population and Black and Brown communities。 Whether through forced as The author， a daughter of Pakistani immigrants， writes a memoir combined with history。 Because of her upbringing， passion for social justice and education， she has lived in 12 different American communities， including Florida， Arkansas， Boston， Chicago and Arizona among others。 For each community， she describes the history of the vulnerable and marginalized race specific to that area。 She includes Native Americans， the Chinese population and Black and Brown communities。 Whether through forced assimilation， annihilation， deportation or selective breeding， the author shows that not being White and Christian in America can be dangerous to and limits the opportunities and dignity afforded to these peoples。 Using this knowledge， the author is a lawyer who now lives in her chosen city， Toronto， Canada with her family。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
Sofia Ali-Khan blends memoir with history to reveal America’s long legacy of racism， color lines， and forced migration。 White Americans like me need to learn and acknowledge this history and its ongoing ramifications， and BIPOC Americans will find their experiences contextualized and validated。 This book is important， unique， compelling， and beautifully written。
Trevor Stevens
，
In the introduction to her book， Sofia Ali-Khan says that “this book is my effort to tear the false narrative open， to tell you the story of how American Muslims have become， collectively， America’s most recently racialized out-group， and to explain why my family had to leave。” The thread of this narrative is woven throughout the book， and yet the book also reads as much more than this， both a personal memoir and a historical study of the many times and places where white power structures in Ame In the introduction to her book， Sofia Ali-Khan says that “this book is my effort to tear the false narrative open， to tell you the story of how American Muslims have become， collectively， America’s most recently racialized out-group， and to explain why my family had to leave。” The thread of this narrative is woven throughout the book， and yet the book also reads as much more than this， both a personal memoir and a historical study of the many times and places where white power structures in America have displaced， marginalized and brutalized minority groups for centuries。 And there is a LOT of history to learn here…even if you think you are familiar with with the history of racism and white supremacy in American culture and politics， you will almost certainly still find new information here which will give you much to think about （for example， my conception of William Penn is changed forever！） But as a personal memoir the book is also very powerful; well-written， at times painfully honest， but universal enough to leave with you much to reflect in terms of how identity is related to， and can be supported or suppressed by， culture and history。 This is an IMPORTANT book， which should be read by anyone wanting to understand a little bit more about the wrongs in our society， and what it means to live with and through them。 。。。more
Dawn Michelle
，
With thanks to NetGalley， Sofia Ali-Khan， and Random House Publishing Group/Random House for providing this ARC， it is with deep regret that I will be unable to provide a review for this book at this time。 Thank you。
Susan Rogan
，
In this fascinating book， the author deftly weaves together her own personal story with the racial history of the places she has lived。 In each of the twelve chapters， Ali-Khan describes trying to find her place in each as a woman of color in predominantly white towns。 Rather than the white-washed version of American history we learned in school， Ali-Khan walks us through the truth of the systematic efforts used to champion white rights over time。 Grateful she eventually found the “American Drea In this fascinating book， the author deftly weaves together her own personal story with the racial history of the places she has lived。 In each of the twelve chapters， Ali-Khan describes trying to find her place in each as a woman of color in predominantly white towns。 Rather than the white-washed version of American history we learned in school， Ali-Khan walks us through the truth of the systematic efforts used to champion white rights over time。 Grateful she eventually found the “American Dream” for herself and her family。 Strongly recommend。 。。。more
Janelle C
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I am a cis gender white female。 Growing up white， in the white lens， in white america we do not know that we are rarely， if ever， in touch with our actual cultures。 Our white American identity becomes our culture。 It was not until I opened myself up to hearing Black， Indigenous， immigrant， and POC experiences in this country that I began to understand that we are removed from our own cultures and expect that others remove themselves from theirs to belong。 The authors recounting of that struggle I am a cis gender white female。 Growing up white， in the white lens， in white america we do not know that we are rarely， if ever， in touch with our actual cultures。 Our white American identity becomes our culture。 It was not until I opened myself up to hearing Black， Indigenous， immigrant， and POC experiences in this country that I began to understand that we are removed from our own cultures and expect that others remove themselves from theirs to belong。 The authors recounting of that struggle for her and her parents， was heartbreaking。 This book and the historical lessons and context provided should be mandatory reading。 In a time when white america is trying to erase the uncomfortable savagery of our collective history， this book gives you facts and a personal relationship with the author。 I appreciate the author being so candid and honest。 Reading this book reminds me that shame and guilt are normal feelings when you begin to truly absorb the truth of our country。 But that you can not sit in that shame if we are to ever move towards a collective liberation。 This books provided you with the reason to fight for that liberation。 It is only until we understand the past that we can influence our futures。 。。。more
Kerry
，
I was privileged to receive an advanced copy。 This is a devastatingly beautiful book。 Sofia Ali-Khan’s saga of life in 12 American towns perfectly captures the longing of one immigrant family to live in White America。 The book is a rare combination of personal narrative tucked inside historical context。 Her insights are especially timely today。 Read this book！ You won’t regret it。
Sarah Katz
，
This 4th of July weekend， where “independence” feels at best questionable， I treated myself to finishing the inimitable Sofia Ali-Khan’s new book （releasing tomorrow 7/5！）， A Good Country: My Life in Twelve Towns and the Devastating Battle for a White America。 The books weaves together a highly personal narrative with deep dives into the colonialist and white supremacist history of our nation。 Sofia deftly demonstrates how the USA’s history and culture of genocide， racism， patriarchy and xenopho This 4th of July weekend， where “independence” feels at best questionable， I treated myself to finishing the inimitable Sofia Ali-Khan’s new book （releasing tomorrow 7/5！）， A Good Country: My Life in Twelve Towns and the Devastating Battle for a White America。 The books weaves together a highly personal narrative with deep dives into the colonialist and white supremacist history of our nation。 Sofia deftly demonstrates how the USA’s history and culture of genocide， racism， patriarchy and xenophobia are deeply woven into our society。 Although much of the history is not new to me， Sofia’s use of her own personal journey is call for reflection for each of us on how we interface with the deeply flawed realities of our nation。 Sofia’s voice arrives at exactly the right time， and serves as a call to action in these deeply troubled times。 By far the best book I have read in a long time！ 。。。more
Geoffrey
，
（Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley）Sofia Ali-Khan’s A Good Country is not only a searing indictment on America’s still unreconciled foundations as a settler-colonial state， but an extremely effective one as well。 Using just the twelve specific locations that she personally lived in across the United States， the author is able to very easily tie each and every one into a unique historical case of either systematic destruction， exploitation， or marginaliza （Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley）Sofia Ali-Khan’s A Good Country is not only a searing indictment on America’s still unreconciled foundations as a settler-colonial state， but an extremely effective one as well。 Using just the twelve specific locations that she personally lived in across the United States， the author is able to very easily tie each and every one into a unique historical case of either systematic destruction， exploitation， or marginalization of a nonwhite segment of the population。 It’s with great skill that Ali-Khan blends together stories of her own life with a diverse collection of injustices， ranging from the near annihilation of any traces of the native Lenape peoples from the Delaware River valley to the purposeful segregation of post-WWII Levittowns。 I personally preferred the historical parts of the book much more than the segments detailing her personal past， as she was able to make me newly aware of several horrors that my school education had failed to mention to me， and also provide much deeper background few items that I thought I already knew about， but apparently only understood at the most basic level。 However， whether one is more into memoir or history， there is a great deal to learn and experience from A Good Country。 With these current times sharply in mind， this is as strong a recommendation as I can give。 。。。more
Ellison Cooper
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