Once We Were Strangers
What Friendship with a Syrian Refugee Taught Me About Loving My Neighbor (Baker, 2018)
WHO: Shawn Smucker, an author who lives in Pennsylvania.
HE SAYS: “I felt like I should have a disclaimer on the cover: ‘No one was harmed in the creation of this book.’ But something was harmed. Something happened. My belief that refugees have little to offer was crushed.”
THE BIG IDEA: Two men—an American and a Syrian refugee—strike up an unusual friendship that reflects what happens when we reflect Jesus’ love and hospitality.
THE PROGRESSION:
The first part, “The Friend,” shares the author and his friend’s stories and how they came to meet. Part 2, “The Foreigner,” shows how their friendship deepened. Part 3, “The Neighbor,” shows how this friendship isn’t a one-sided relationship—it is a true and caring friendship.