This a pretty incredible book both for it’s structure and it’s content. It’s a story about refugees from four places: war in Chechnya, ethnic cleansing in Burma, globalization in Mexico and AIDS in Malawi. Seeming like a thick hardcover book, this cover opens into two sections which open again to form a long four panel hardcover with pockets. Inside the pockets are soft cover perfect bound books, one for each country. The structure is really impressive for a $29.95 book. Each of these perfect bound books is full of real and fiction stories, most of them tragic, about the lives of the displaced people from these places. Each has journals from the author/organizer actress Mia Kirshner (most known for her role on the show The L Word) who traveled to these locations. And then artists and writers also contributed, among the artists names I recognized Joe Sacco and Julie Morstad. I have yet to go through all of the parts of this book but so far it’s been a heart-wrenching read. There is a site where you can learn more about this book and also donate money to the foundation they created. Check it out here.

© Julia Rothman 2007