FINDING HOME IN THE SEVEN HILLS

Bosnian war refugee Softic recounts how she built a new life in the United States.

Born to a Muslim family in 1950, the author fled her homeland in the ’90s in the wake of the genocidal Bosnian War. Softic’s life in the Balkans and her experiences during the early years of the conflict are covered in her first memoir, Nana’s Shoes: A Story of a Family’s Faith, Hope, and Courage in a Time of Ethnic Cleansing (2015). In this sequel, she focuses on her transition from being a “practically homeless” 45-year-old refugee in Belgrade, Serbia, to a citizen of the United States. The persistently optimistic narrative highlights the network of family and friends that sustained her journey, but it doesn’t shy away from the difficulties of living in a new land. Many of her hardships involved the practicalities of grasping a new culture and language as an adult, while others were more psychological in nature: “In my dreams,” she writes after becoming a naturalized citizen, “I am still in Bosnia.” The strength of the book lies in the author’s resilient spirit, as she not only forged a new home for her family in Cincinnati, but also launched a successful college career at Wright State University, where she obtained a special education degree. Particularly poignant is her return to the United States after an emotional visit to her homeland in 2018, whereupon she was greeted by a U.S. immigration officer with a profound reminder of her new life: “Welcome home.” The book is written in a conversational style that emphasizes the power of hope in traumatic situations and reminds readers “that human hearts speak language beyond language and that we all belong to one huge family.” Indeed, the book’s titular “Seven Hills” refer not just to a nickname of Cincinnati, but to the “hills of life’s journey” that require “perseverance, strength, patience, and, sometimes, a little help” to overcome. This deeply personal narrative is accompanied by an ample assortment of family photos, snapshots, and newspaper clippings.

A compelling story of human resiliency and the power of hope.