Wanderer's Journey: A Refugee's Search For a Home in the Beautiful Game

What does home mean when you’ve lost it—twice? It means that finding it again is not always a place that you’re from, but it’s something you are still searching for elsewhere in the world, a place where you feel understood.In Wanderer’s Journey: A Refugee’s Search for a Home in the Beautiful Game, a boy is uprooted by civil war and is forced to rebuild his life in unfamiliar countries, having to navigate language barriers, cultural isolation, and the lingering trauma of displacement, leaving him to wonder if belonging was something he would ever feel again. Football becomes a compass guiding him across continents and cultures. Through clubs, players, and shared moments in the stands, he searches for a community—that reflects who he is.This deeply personal memoir combines refugee experience, football culture, and global travel, taking readers inside iconic clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Boca Juniors, and into their legendary stadiums. Along the way, the book honors the players whose global impact on the game is indisputable—Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona, Riquelme, Ibrahimović, and Zidane—and revisits every World Cup from 1998, the author’s first, to Argentina’s unforgettable victory in Qatar in 2022.Ultimately at its heart, Wanderer’s Journey is a story of hope, perseverance, and the universal language of football—a reminder that even when borders divide us, the game has the power to unite us.Finalist in the Non-Fiction Sports Genre - Readers' Favorite 2025Nappie Award Winner 2025Winner of the Red Ribbon Award - Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2024Finalist in the Sports Category - American Writing Awards 2024 Read more