Prayer By Rhonda Brown Chapter Summary

The novel follows the stories of refugees, an American town and Luma, a Jordanian Woman, who all eventually cross paths in the small town of Clarkston, Georgia. The book describes the struggles they all face when the town has an influx of refugees from other countries, creating tensions as cultures collide and the face of the town completely changes. The first chapter begins by introducing Luma, a Jordanian Woman born into a wealthy westernized family in Amman, Jordan. She attended American Community School where she was able to escape the conservative Muslim society and was able to play sports. She stood out to her coaches, particularly Rhonda Brown, who she disliked. However, she realized she wanted to play well for her and she later volunteered to coach. Thus she began to feel at odds with the Jordanian society because there are expectations of her that she doesn’t want such as marrying someone she doesn’t love. Her odds with society caused her to move to America and attend college in New York, but transferred to Smith College, an all-women’s college. She realized that she would never be comfortable living in Jordan because they don’t have

Her situation is one of several in Liberia, where it was caused by the greed and mistakes of people from decades ago. Beatrice and her sons walked to the country of Ivory Coast to an overflowing refugee camp where they stayed for five years. After countless interviews with the U.N they eventually were accepted for resettlement to Clarkston, Georgia. When they arrived Beatrice found a job as a maid in a hotel. A few days later she was mugged and it also robbed her of the hope that her new home would provide safety. Therefore, she ordered her kids that once they arrive home from school, to go inside and lock the door and stay