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Surviving the Unknown: A Pandemic Refugee's Journey with Author Joel David Bond
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My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Joel David Bond, author of the book As Large As Your Spirit: A Reverse Refugee Memoir. A born explorer, Joel has spent over two decades living and working around the world, from farm work in Italian vineyards to jet-setting as a London-based flight attendant. His recent work in Iraqi Kurdistan built bridges between some of the region’s most elite students and the locally marginalized refugee community through service-learning.
He holds a Master’s in Education from the University of Nottingham, UK. His essay, “Amazing Grace,” was shortlisted for the 2022 Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction.
Bond is available for interviews as well as speaking engagements and events on topics of refugee rights, education in post-conflict societies, life & culture in Iraqi Kurdistan, or travel-related topics.
In my book review, I stated As Large as Your Spirit looks at Joel's life during a five-month forced stay on a Greek Island during the pandemic. Although at first glance, being stranded on a Greek Island sounds idyllic, readers soon realize that being trapped anywhere against your wishes is difficult.
Though the setting is beautiful, Joel finds himself without friends, without access to funds, and with limited access to the internet during a time when governments limited a person's ability to travel or even interact outside their own home. In essence, Joel found himself a refugee, but one wishing to go back to the east while most refugees were leaving the east to head west.
The book is about finding a place to call home - both physically and within oneself. It showcases the plight of refugees, unlike Joel, who had to flee from their home and must now find ways to make new lands their own. We even get a peek at Roma's, people who, though they live in a country, are not accepted as true citizens.
This is a great memoir that will make you think about what it means to be a refugee and what you can do to eliminate your own biases. Great read.
You can follow Author Joel David Bond:
Website: joeldavidbond.com
FB: @joeldavidbond
IG: @joeldavidbond
LinkedIn: @joeldavidbond
Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com
FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor
IG: @terimbrown_author
X: @terimbrown1
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