We Thought It Would Be Heaven - by Blair Sackett & Annette Lareau (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Resettled refugees in America face a land of daunting obstacles where small things--one person, one encounter--can make all the difference in getting ahead or falling behind.

Fleeing war and violence, many refugees dream that moving to the United States will be like going to Heaven. Instead, they enter a deeply unequal American society, often at the bottom. Through the lived experiences of families resettled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Blair Sackett and Annette Lareau reveal how a daunting obstacle course of agencies and services can drastically alter refugees' experiences building a new life in America.

In these stories of struggle and hope, as one volunteer said, "you see the American story." For some families, minor mistakes create catastrophes--food stamps cut off, educational opportunities missed, benefits lost. Other families, with the help of volunteers and social supports, escape these traps and take steps toward reaching their dreams. Engaging and eye-opening, We Thought It Would Be Heaven brings readers into the daily lives of Congolese refugees and offers guidance for how activists, workers, and policymakers can help refugee families thrive.

From the Back Cover

"This beautifully written but heartrending book tells what happens when refugees needing rescue from violence come to America. Instead of security, the refugees encounter a resettlement system that leaves the promise of humanitarianism unfulfilled and pushes them into the ranks of the unprotected working poor. An eye-opening, deeply unsettling account."--Roger Waldinger, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles

"Sharply analyzed, richly detailed, and intricately humane, We Thought It Would Be Heaven exposes the bewildering maze of rules and regulations that trap refugees in Kafkaesque fashion as they navigate the US bureaucracies charged with their resettlement. Highly recommended for everyone, especially for scholars, policymakers, and anyone who cares about the lives of some of the most vulnerable groups in society today."--Cecilia Menjívar, Dorothy L. Meier Social Equities Chair, University of California, Los Angeles

"This extraordinary book exposes how the gap between the American dream and its reality is, for many refugees, filled with administrative burdens. With We Thought It Would Be Heaven, Blair Sackett and Annette Lareau have written a book that is not just exhaustively researched and theoretically rich, but urgent and actionable. It demands both our attention and our capacity to rethink how to ensure that the most vulnerable immigrants are not lost in a bureaucratic maze."--Donald Moynihan, McCourt Chair at the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University

"Fleeing the deadliest wars since World War II, refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo were the top nationality group resettled in the United States from 2014 to 2022. Blair Sackett and Annette Lareau follow forty-four Congolese families who came to America thinking it "would be heaven," but instead have encountered a bare-bones and hollowed-out resettlement infrastructure, not to mention a bewildering and disconnected maze of American financial, educational, social, and legal institutions that, built upon the twin logics of cost-cutting and racialized surveillance, presents hurdle after bureaucratic hurdle to block their progress. Only with the most committed of cultural brokers and institutional advocates do a few of these families manage to get ahead. We Thought It Would Be Heaven is a must-read for anyone looking for an understanding of the dismal state of US refugee admissions and for fresh ideas on what can be done to improve the outcomes."--Helen B. Marrow, Associate Professor of Sociology, Tufts University

"As the former leader of one of the bureaucracies that the refugee families in Sackett and Lareau's book traversed, I can only hope that my peers will have the wisdom to read this book. The United States can fulfill its promise of being a beacon to those fleeing persecution only by heeding this book's lessons."--León Rodríguez, Former Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

"We Thought It Would Be Heaven eloquently shows the many challenges and resources needed for refugee families in navigating different institutions in America to start a new life after having spent years surviving in refugee camps and civil wars. Its captivating and often heartbreaking accounts of these families' struggles reveal how American institutions meant to help any family in need can end up hurting families through a series of seemingly innocuous yet endless bureaucratic missteps and hurdles."--Leslie Paik, author of Trapped in a Maze: How Social Control Institutions Drive Family Poverty and Inequality
"In this compelling and timely book, Sackett and Lareau provide a rare, intimate glimpse into the complex lives of Congolese refugees--a disadvantaged, vulnerable, and understudied group in the United States. Theoretically innovative and insightfully argued, this book highlights how institutional barriers can derail courageous struggles for dignity and stability among the 'lucky few' as they rebuild their lives in a new land while underscoring how federal resettlement policies and future programs might better serve the 'worthy many' still in search of refuge beyond our shores."--Van C. Tran, Associate Professor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center

"This deeply humanist ethnography explains how refugees who fled persecution confront new challenges as they resettle in the United States. We Thought It Would Be Heaven follows four Congolese families as they fight their way through bureaucratic circles of hell to make a new American life."--David Scott FitzGerald, coauthor of The Refugee System: A Sociological Approach

"The book is beautifully written, with vivid and richly detailed portraits of refugee families and the bureaucratic challenges they encounter in the United States. It offers fresh insights into how institutions shape refugee resettlement in the U.S."--Nazli Kibria, Boston University

Review Quotes

"As an ethnographic project catching the attention of the reader, presenting relatable research subjects, and eliciting empathy, We Thought It Would Be Heaven is a success."-- "Social Forces"

"This is a beautifully written and clear book about the sometimes-ugly issues and often confusing situations which many refugees experience as they arrive in the United States and seek to make their lives there. . . . It is also an inspiring book, vividly relaying the views and feelings of members of families from the Democratic Republic of the Congo during their initial years in the US."

-- "Process North"

"We Thought it Would be Heaven is a convincing and accessible depiction of
how refugee families in America navigate complexly interrelated institutions. . . . Refugee families . . . are astonished to learn how unequal and, at times, unjust America can be."
-- "Ethnic and Racial Studies"

About the Author

Blair Sackett is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Her next book project follows refugee families in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya.

Annette Lareau is Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Unequal Childhoods and Home Advantage.