The contrast between how the West views newcomers versus how immigrants picture themselves is stark. New residents in Canada and the US are often misunderstood, disrespected, or poorly labeled due to inaccurate assumptions and stereotypes held by all parties. What does it take to attend university in a second or third language? What are the common denominators amongst people arriving in the West wanting to pursue "the American dream"? What are the impacts of cultural and social adjustments, academic and professional advancement? How do new Canadians and Americans maneuver through prejudices and discrimination coming from not only those born on western soil but also from other immigrants?
My Silver Lining, volume three of a three-volume memoir, is a window into the hurdles that settlers face and the support they get from those who welcome immigrants to their new chosen homelands. Peer through this window by reading the story of a young man who navigated from Ethiopia and Yemen to the US and Canada to establish his identity and purpose. The story shows how Adel Ben-Harhara succeeded after leaving behind everything he knew and attempted to embrace an unknown way of life on a new continent.