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University of California Press

Believing in Light after Darkness

Displacement and Refugee Resettlement

by Molly Fee (Author)
Price: $29.95 / £25.00
Publication Date: Mar 2026
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 315
ISBN: 9780520416314
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 8 tables

About the Book

War, persecution, and climate change force people from their homes and across borders. Most refugees remain in difficult conditions in neighboring countries. The less than one percent of refugees offered resettlement to another country gain access to an alternative path forward with specialized supports and services traditionally understood as a program of integration and a solution to displacement.

By examining the complexities of refugees' lived experiences, Molly Fee's deeply humanistic ethnography reframes resettlement as a period of disruption and disorientation as newly arrived refugees navigate the rules and expectations of a new country. Rather than a solution that marks the end of displacement, resettlement becomes another uprooting for refugees who have already rebuilt their lives numerous times. Believing in Light after Darkness reveals how humanitarian solutions do not immediately resolve the conditions of displacement.

About the Author

Molly Fee is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at the University of South Florida.

Reviews

"Molly Fee's unvarnished account shows how refugees cope during their first months in the United States as local contexts in San Diego and Boise create unique opportunities and obstacles. This book is indispensable for anyone interested in refugee resettlement."—David Scott FitzGerald, coauthor of The Refugee System: A Sociological Approach