Achut Deng: Don’t Look Back
@ International House
1414 E 59th St, Chicago, IL 60637
Opening Friday, October 14th, from 6PM - 7:30PM
Achut Deng will discuss Don’t Look Back: A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey from Sudan to America. She will be joined in conversation by co-author, Keely Hutton.
Presented in partnership with the University of Chicago’s International House
This event will be held in Coulter Lounge at the International House
REGISTER HERE
About the book: After a deadly attack in South Sudan left six-year-old Achut Deng without a family, she lived in refugee camps for ten years, until a refugee relocation program gave her the opportunity to move to the United States. When asked why she should be given a chance to leave the camp, Achut simply told the interviewer: I want life.
But the chance at starting a new life in a new country came with a different set of challenges. Some of them equally deadly. Taught by the strong women in her life not to look back, Achut kept moving forward, overcoming one obstacle after another, facing each day with hope and faith in her future. Yet, just as Achut began to think of the US as her home, a tie to her old life resurfaced, and for the first time, she had no choice but to remember her past.
About Achut Deng: Achut Deng was born in South Sudan and came to America as a refugee when she was sixteen years old, a story she recounts in her memoir, Don’t Look Back. She is now an American citizen and works in human resources at a meat-packing plant in South Dakota, where she also resides. She is the mother of three sons.
About Keely Hutton: Keely Hutton is a children’s book author and former English teacher. She worked closely with Ricky Richard Anywar to tell his story in her debut novel, Soldier Boy. Booklist named Soldier Boy one of the top ten first novels in 2017 and one of the top ten historical novels for youth in 2018. Her second novel, Secret Soldiers, was a 2020 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year and 2020 Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Book for Young People. Keely lives in Rochester, NY with her husband, two sons, and adorable dog, Maximus.
International House
Chicago, IL 60637
Official Website
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Tags: 57th Street Books, Achut Deng, Chicago, Don't Look Back, Hyde Park, Illinois, International House, Keely Hutton, The Seminary Co-op
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