Teaching Home Is Not a Country

Safia Elhillo’s Home Is Not a Country is a novel in verse that offers a love letter to the Sudanese diaspora in North America. The narrator, Nima, struggles to find how she fits into a divided world as she imagines a version of the life she never had in her parents’ homeland. Suffused with magical realism, the poems each stand as individual works of art, but together they weave a story of the choices—both those we make and those that are made for us—that create our circumstances and identities. While offering glimpses of xenophobia and violence, the story is also marked by the beauty and joy to be found in family and in the art, music, food, and dance of one’s culture. It invites readers to explore the role that parents play in our development of self, and the unique experiences of “third culture kids.” 

The themes of this novel align with Facing History’s Borders & Belonging ELA Collection. We’ve created this planning guide to support your school community in small-group, whole-class, or schoolwide reading and discussion. The discussion questions are designed to spark critical thinking and conversations around issues of otherness, choices, nostalgia, “third culture” experiences, perspective, empathy, and home. 

Learn about using this title in an All Community Read on the theme of Borders & Belonging.