About the Book

From the book cover: Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical southern town until it was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s, becoming the first American home for scores of families in flight from the world's war zones-from Liberia and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan. Suddenly Clarkston's streets were filled with women wearing the hijab, the smells of cumin and curry, and kids of all colors playing soccer in any open space they could find-the last thanks to Luma Mufleh, an American educated Jordanian woman who started a youth soccer team to unify Clarkston's refugee children. With unsentimental compassion and grueling training sessions, and defying some local resistance, Mufleh lead her players through an unforgettable season. In return, from the kids and their grateful loved ones, she receives "a family of 120."

Set against the backdrop of a fading American town struggling to accommodate its new arrivals, Outcasts United is the stunning real-life story of an inspiring group of refugees and a woman who, with tough love and fiery determination, changes an entire community for the better.