The House That Love Built, Sarah Jackson
The House That Love Built, Sarah Jackson
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List: $22.99 | Sale: $16.09
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The House That Love Built
Why I Opened My Door to Immigrants and How We Found Hope beyond a Broken System

Author: Sarah Jackson, Scott Sawyer

Narrator: Chloe Dolandis

Unabridged: 6 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 07/14/2020


Synopsis

2021 Christian Book Award Finalist"Jackson's visionary account is a beautiful model of sacrificial love." -- Publishers Weekly Starred ReviewThe House That Love Built is the quintessential story of one woman's questioning what it means to be an American--and a Christian--in light of a broken immigration system. Through tender stories of opening her heart and home to immigrants, Sarah Jackson shines a holy light on loving our neighbor.Sarah Jackson once thought immigration justice was administered through higher walls and longer fences. Then she met an immigrant--a deported young father separated from his US-citizen family--and everything changed. As Sarah began to know fractured families ravaged by threats in their homeland and further traumatized in US detention, biblical justice took on a new meaning.As Sarah opened her heart--and her home--to immigrants, she experienced a surprising transformation and the gift of extraordinary community. The work she began through the ministry of Casa de Paz joined the centuries-old Christian tradition of hospitality, shining a holy light on what it means to love our neighbor.The dilemma of undocumented people continues to hover over America, and it raises urgent questions for every Christian:What is our responsibility to the "stranger" in our midst?What does God's kingdom look like in the global-political reality of immigration?What difference can one person make?Sarah engages these questions through profound and tender stories, placing listeners in the shoes of individuals on every side of the issue--asylum seekers torn from their families, the guards who oversee them, ordinary people with lapsed visas, the families left to survive on their own, the unheralded advocates for immigrants' rights, and the government officials who decide the fates of others.Ultimately, Sarah's journey illuminates how hope can be restored through simple yet radical acts of love.

About Sarah Jackson

Sarah Jackson is the founder and executive director of Casa de Paz, a hospitality home in Denver, Colorado, serving families separated by immigrant detention. Casa’s family of over 2,000 volunteers provides hospitality for immigrants isolated in and leaving detention as well as their loved ones with visits, meals, shelter, and transportation, joining them in hope and emotional support through the arduous process of reunification. Sarah’s mission is to help end the isolating experience of immigrant detention one simple act of love at a time, which you can follow at www.casadepazcolorado.org.                                                                                          

About Scott Sawyer

Scott Sawyer is a writer and editor whose memoir, Earthly Fathers, was selected for HarperOne’s Best Christian Writing Series. He and his wife, Joy, live in Denver, where they are active in the Lighthouse Writers Workshop community. Their editing work together has earned awards from the Associated Church Press and the Catholic Press Association.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Loring

If you want to know why Sarah Jackson's story of building Casa de Paz as a bootstrapped yet critical resource for immigrants dealing with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), just ask The Guardian newspaper. Or David Byrne. Or the UN Human Rights Commission. If you want to find out how Jackson......more

Goodreads review by Leah

I’d say 3.5 stars. I read this for a book club at my church and we had great conversation about how to support our community members who may be undocumented, so the book was a very worthwhile read for that reason alone. I think this book is good for people who fixate on the common misconception that......more

Sort of surprised that this book is under "Christian" books at my local bookseller; I would have filed it under current events. The author, Sarah Jackson, literally started opening her door (to her apartment) in Aurora, Colorado, to immigrants who were in detention at the ICE facility there. If you......more

Goodreads review by Annie

Wow. Wow. Wow. Everyone needs to read this book, but especially Christians. This book is powerful, hard to read and so incredibly worth it. Read it in a few hours and this one has forever changed the way I think about immigration in our country and what our response as Christians and Americans shoul......more

Goodreads review by J9gast

Did you know that ALL asylum seekers, including those who enter our country legally, are detained in windowless, cold, crowded detention centers, where they are never allowed to see the outside world for weeks, months, and sometimes years? Or that most of these for-profit detention centers scattered......more


Quotes

'In this eye-opening debut, Jackson, executive director of immigrant hospitality organization Casa de Paz, explores the second commandment--'Love your neighbor as yourself'--as it relates to the fraught topic of immigration. With only a firm conviction that love makes a difference and her 600-square-foot Denver apartment, Jackson opened her home in 2012 to immigrants separated from family due to their immigration status. Casa de Paz (House of Peace) has since expanded to a three-bedroom home where Jackson has provided nearly 3,000 strangers with meals, rooms, and transportation. Jackson shares encounters with people like Agustin, a loving father who has been separated from his children for over a year, and Alejandro, whose wife was arrested after returning from her brother's funeral in Mexico. 'I met beautiful families and saw the indignities they endured, the tears they cried, the absence of their parents or spouses, and I wondered: What does God think?' In the end, she challenges Christian readers to similarly open their hearts and address immigrant rights head-on. Jackson's visionary account is a beautiful model of sacrificial love.' Publishers Weekly Starred Review