"The Girl Who Smiled Beads"

The theme of Refugee Week 2019, ‘You, me and those who came before’, is an invitation to explore the lives of refugees. With that in mind,we have put together a book list of six inspirational titles. Here's details of the first book on the list - keep watching our page for the other titles.

Book 1 - "The Girl Who Smiled Beads" by Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weill

"Sharp, moving memoir . . . Wamariya tells her own story with feeling, in vivid prose. She has remade herself, as she explains was necessary to do, on her own terms" (New York Times)

"Her introspection, honesty and humanity in sharing her story and exploring these questions are thoughtful and moving to read" (Culture Fly)

"A riveting story and one that, somehow, gives hope too" (Stylist, Spring Picks)

"Clemantine Wamariya has written a defining, luminescent memoir that shines a sharp light on the dark forces that roil our age . . . Her gripping and brutally honest reflections inspire us to count our blessings and summon us to follow her fierce and unrelenting example to try to help build the world we wish to see" (Samantha Power, author of A Problem from Hell)

Clemantine Wamariya (Author)
Clemantine Wamariya is a storyteller and human rights advocate. Born in Kigali, Rwanda, displaced by conflict, Clemantine migrated throughout seven African countries as a child. At age twelve, she was granted refugee status in the United States and went on to receive a BA in Comparative Literature from Yale University. She lives in San Francisco.

Elizabeth Weil (Author)
Elizabeth Weil is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two daughters.