No Man is an Island

(Paperback)

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Description

In 2010, 24-year-old Sydneysider Adele Dumont volunteered to teach English to men in immigration detention on Christmas Island. She didn't expect to find the work so rewarding or the people she met so interesting. So when she was offered a job working at Curtin detention centre near Derby in Western Australia, she took it.

Working at Curtin required a fly-in fly-out lifestyle. Adele lived in a donga in WA, her life full of bus trips to the detention centre; back home in Sydney, she was overwhelmed by the choices and privileges people had. What kept her returning to Curtin were her students: men from many lands who had sacrificed all they knew for a chance to live in Australia; men who were unfailingly polite to her in a situation that was barbarous. Men who were looking for an opportunity for a better life.

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND is a unique personal story that takes a humanitarian stance on immigration detention. It makes the issue of immigration detention accessible to far more interested Australians than newspaper articles. It is a vividly told story full of characters and humanity. It is the story about immigration detention all Australians need to read.

Reviews

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND should be compulsory reading for all our politicians - their eyes might well be opened by this insightful account of the results of Australia's immigration policy. It certainly opened mine. -- Nina Valentine * Golden Plains Miner Melbourne *
No Man Is an Island is essential reading for anyone who assumes they understand what the asylum seeker issue is all about, regardless of their opinion * Sydney Morning Herald, The Saturday Age *
Dumont has a way of demonstrating the humanity of the refugees, but also of the Australians who have them in their charge, in a way that could reach the naysayers in ways the stereotypes of political discourse cannot. * Weekend Australian *
...quietly draws the reader into that world hidden away from our eyes, so that we feel what Dumont felt, and gain some insight into the harm that is being done. * ReadPlus blog *
Dumont's writing is evocative but never obtrusive * The Saturday Paper *
It is a vividly told story full of characters and humanity. It is the story about immigration detention all Australians need to read. -- Jo O'Dowd * South Coast Register *
[an] elegant and moving memoir * Marie Claire *
the book focuses on the honour she felt at being a part of the detainees' lives and the lasting friendships she made * Good Reading *
Review * Sunday Mail Brisbane, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Herald Sun *
a rare insight into the realities of life in a detention centre * Adelaide Advertiser, Sunday Territorian *

Author Bio

Adele Dumont was born in France and moved to Australia before her first birthday. After studying Australian Literature at the University of Sydney, she spent two years teaching English at the Curtin immigration detention centre. This book is based on her own experiences, as recorded in her personal journals. Adele lives in Sydney's inner west.