Jessica Goudeau
Author, Activist, and Scholar

Press & Praise

Press & Praise for We Were Illegal

“A stirring mixture of memoir, genealogy, history and hopeful manifesto. … Goudeau is unsparing in her determination to tell ‘hard truths’ about the past that school curriculums and family genealogies did not always teach her.”

—The New York Times

 

“This is not just a book about one family, or one state. At a time when history has become a primary battlefield in the culture wars, We Were Illegal models for us how to engage the darker chapters of our individual and collective stories, and shows us why we must. With unflinching honesty and deep empathy, Jessica Goudeau brings readers to a place of hard-earned hope. Thoroughly engrossing, this book is a gift to a divided nation.”

—Kristin Kobes Du Mez, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

 

“Clear-eyed, deeply moral and rigorously researched…We Were Illegal is a necessary corrective, and a gripping read for anyone interested in how our national myths are shaped.”

—Alejandra Oliva, author of Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration

“An invigorating history that will displease legislators and would-be despots throughout the Lone Star State. Expect to see bans of this powerful book, one that every Texan should read.”

—Kirkus (Starred Review)

 

“Introspective and detailed.”

—Publishers Weekly

 

“A riveting and honest look at the myths that become our official histories, our laws, and the stories we tell ourselves. Goudeau makes history come alive and feel more relevant than ever.”

—Bryan Burrough, co-author of Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth

 

“In this richly written epic, Goudeau deftly takes on myths so important to Texans, arguing that the way we’ve long told our stories has created the extreme political climate we see today. Beneath this enthralling saga beats, at its heart, an impassioned plea: that setting the record straight will allow Texas, and the nation, to live up to its lofty ideals at last.”

—Roxanna Asgarian, author of We Were Once a Family, winner of the ALA Carnegie Medal

“Texas occupies a complex space in the American landscape. Goudeau argues that the state’s history is essential to understanding some of American society’s most important contradictions around liberty, faith, and personhood…some of the most moving parts of the book come from Goudeau finding the people helped—and harmed—by her ancestors’ choices. This is an empathic and thoughtfully told work, sure to encourage reflection on the legacies we choose to inherit.”

—Booklist

 

“You start turning over rocks in Texas and there’s no telling what will crawl out. Jessica Goudeau digs centuries deep into her family’s past and emerges with some astonishing tales: land thefts, murder and official corruption, but also great bravery, perseverance, and heroic sacrifice. In a state where the whitewashing of history is government sanctioned, We Were Illegal delivers the real story. This is a courageous book.”

—Doug J. Swanson, author of Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers

 

Press & Praise for After the Last Border

“Simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion” 

—The New York Times

 

“Absolutely breathtaking. A story of the unbelievable resilience of two refugee families, worlds apart, and the desperate humanitarian crisis that brought them to our doorstep.” 

—Kate Bowler, New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens For a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved

 

“LOVELY… Jessica Goudeau’s spectacular writing turns the struggles of each family into saga, enabling us to feel their predicaments and their progress as our own. The author does full justice to the sweeping drama of resettling from one side of the globe to the other. This is a captivating book about bravery, dislocation, and human resilience.” 

—Helen Thorpe, author of The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in America

 

“A revelatory and compassionate account…At a time when it is more important than ever to recognize that closed borders shrinks a country’s moral compass, After The Last Border reminds us of the human cost, seen through the heartbreaking stories of Mu Naw and Hasna.” 

—Sarah Weinman, author of The Real Lolita

 

“In After the Last Border, Jessica Goudeau has written a history of refugee resettlement in the United States that is masterful in its sweep and novelistic in its attention to the human details that animate that history. I read it transported, appalled, and inspired by the courage of the refugees whose stories she so vividly tells. After the Last Border should be required reading for any US Citizen: it is stories like these that allow us to understand who and what we are as a nation.” 

—Louisa Hall, author of Speak

 

“A richly detailed account of the resettlement experiences of two women granted refugee status in the U.S . . . Her excellent interview skills and obvious empathy for her subjects make the family portraits utterly engrossing, and the history sections provide essential context. This moving and insightful dual portrait makes an impassioned case for humane immigration and refugee policy".”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A work of nonfiction that reads like the best novels…deeply moving.” 

—The San Francisco Chronicle

 

“After the Last Border is the rarest of books: a history, and collection of stories, that manages to be both deeply moving and deeply explanatory of a system that’s foundational to our national identity. It feels like the culmination of a decade of work and friendship with refugees who trusted Goudeau enough to tell the stories. It feels like the work of a writer with a PhD and a deep, detailed understanding of the American project. It feels like that because that is precisely who Goudeau is: a person uniquely capable of writing this necessary book.” 

—Anne Helen Petersen, Senior Culture Writer at BuzzFeed News and author of Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud

 

“Profound, electric, and necessary. These two closely observed stories of women who have been duped by the American Dream is our universal crisis. Goudeau skillfully blasts open our eyes to the plight of humans treated like cattle on the road to “salvation.” 

—Sophia Shalmiyev, author of Mother Winter

 

“After the Last Border is essential reading for this moment; skillfully weaving in her meticulously-researched history of refugee resettlement in the United States, Jessica Goudeau tells a gripping, fast-paced story of trauma, struggle, and the fierce hope of those who cross borders for the sake of their children. Read it with tissues close by.”

—Amy Peterson, author of Where Goodness Still Grows: Reclaiming Virtue in an Age of Hypocrisy

 

“Jessica Goudeau’s reporting and storytelling in After The Last Border are extraordinary, giving her the abilities to grab ahold of the reader and make them see connections between policies and people. This is nonfiction that reads as dramatic and grand as the best fiction. You cannot read this book and remain unchanged.” 

—Pamela Colloff, New York Times Magazine Staff Writer & ProPublica Senior Reporter

 

“It’s obvious that Goudeau was able to gain the two women’s trust…their histories emerge through alternating chapters broken up by excerpts that provide social and political background about American refugee resettlement from the nineteenth century to the present day. These profiles are sympathetic and ultimately profoundly moving.” 

—Booklist

“…in bringing the stories of Mu Naw and Hasna to us, the author shows that welcoming them doesn’t just save their lives and their children’s, but that their contribution to the American story ultimately enriches us all.”

—The Associated Press

 

“After the Last Border is a tale of our times and for our times…Goudeau is not merely reporting; she is writing from a place of friendship, care, and heart.” 

—Kao Kalia Yang, author of Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir

 

“Goudeau, a gifted listener and writer, [takes] readers deep into the love, faith, loss, and astonishing strength of families who endure horror but never surrender hope. The result is an inspiring work of great beauty and profound humanity. You’ll find yourself unable to put this book down and wishing that every American reads it, too. This is the kind of story-telling about refugee experiences that the world needs now.” 

—Wendy Pearlman, author of We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria

 

“After the Last Border is a powerful testament to the US Refugee Resettlement system. By illuminating the journey of two families, and delineating the history and scope of refugee resettlement in the United States, Goudeau illustrates the perilous journeys refugees undertake, and the critical importance and ethical imperative of the US resettlement program. In this political moment, when embracing those fleeing from war and violence is being replaced by walls and policy barriers designed to keep people out, Ms. Goudeau’s book reminds us of what is at stake, and reminds us that this is not who we have been, and not who we are.” 

—Russell A. Smith, LMSW (CEO, Refugee Services of Texas) 

 

“In a detailed text that moves smoothly around in time, Goudeau effectively humanizes the worldwide refugee crisis while calling much-needed attention to a badly broken American immigration system. Sharp, provocative, timely reading.”

—Kirkus Reviews

 

“An excellent choice for readers seeking to understand the human effects of government immigration and refugee policy. Goudeau’s sometimes heartbreaking narratives personalize the refugee crisis in ways cold news accounts cannot.”

—Library Journal

 

Selected TV, Radio, and Podcast Appearances