Book Review: Unnoticed Neighbours

I'm a part of a street team for a super awesome publishing house called The House Studio, and in being part of this team I have the fantastic opportunity to read, review and comment on new Christian literature The House Studio is publishing. The newest in my roster: Unnoticed Neighbours.



Unnoticed Neighbors was written by Erina K Ludwig, an experienced traveler, writer and mentor who certainly has accrued her fair share of "social justice stories" from her weaving in and among many of the oppressed people of this world. Using these experiences, she put together what she calls a "pilgrimage" through social justice issues and intends to "transform" the reader by categorically taking him/her through nine key realities this world has to face (I'll spell them out for you because the clever titles you'll find on Amazon may not make it clear enough):

1. Why we need to know what's going on - and do something about it - in the first place
2. Purchasing power & what that really means
3. Diamonds
4. Injustices children are exposed to worldwide
5. Guns
6. International health concerns
7. International refugees
8. Sex slavery
9. The environment

Unnoticed Neighbors by Erina K Ludwig can be purchased on Amazon & The House Studio website

There are two ways that I have had to look at this book, and it's precisely because of these 8 chapters that I've needed to put on 2 sets of glasses to read this book.

The first set of glasses: I know very little about social justice issues and I want a broad overview.
Through these glasses, this book is a pretty great discussion about what is generally going on in the world today. On the whole, Unnoticed Neighbours would purpose as the survey text for Social Justice 101 in any youth group that needs new and fresh exposure to what's really happening in God's world. With chapters too short to delve into the "why", "what if" and "what is effective" questions which are important to anyone hoping to make a lasting difference on... well, anything... they are the perfect length and depth to give the reader a sweet taste and encourage them to take the next step into learning more. Once you've read this book, or something like it, you'd put on the second set of glasses.

The second set of glasses: I already have a general understanding of social justice issues and want to ask why these issues exist, what if we tried xyz, and what has been effective in the past. Through these glasses, I found the book to be not quite enough: there were a lot of anecdotes in a very short amount of time; there was an introduction of dozens and dozens of characters and I wasn't sure if I should keep track of them or why they were introduced in the first place; and I felt that the topics addressed were too broad to really dive into in approximately 20 pages. For example, I was confused - and had a hard time relaying what I was reading to my husband - when in chapter 4 the author goes from discussing street kids in third world countries, to low income housing in the United States, to the issue of bulimia and anorexia... all in under 20 pages.  But again, I don't feel that jumping in deep was really Erina's purpose. So I'll take these snooty glasses off.

Overall, there were key strengths to this book that shouldn't be ignored, and I think that it should be on every reading shelf of every youth pastor and should be handed to any student who wants to open their eyes to understanding social justice.

I think the most challenging and interesting part of this book is that it doesn't leave you feeling guilty and I think that's a real strength Unnoticed Neighbors holds over other books like it: I didn't close the page thinking, "what have I done?!" but I did want to really press into the action points Erina suggests at the end of every chapter.

All that said, if you really want to understand what Unnoticed Neighbors is about - and if it's going to be a good book for you - I'd read this following paragraph written by Erina herself and found on Pg 36 of the 2011 edition:

"If we were concerned for the poor in the past, we're now having to be concerned about running our own homes against rising costs, finding work when there barely is any, and trying to reconcile this new era where our money, governments, and business leaders are fragile. And yet, it's now that we have to scour our hearts and see that we're all in this together, some worse than others, but we all need each other. Charities and not-for-profits still need us to be outraged by the greed of some that has imprisoned and punished others into generations of poverty. They still need us to be indignant and resilient about wanting justice served fairly for all. And those on the edge need us to remember and fight with and for them." - Erina Ludwig, Unnoticed Neighbors

Unnoticed Neighbors is available for purchase at The House Studio website  along with Economy of Love, The Sinai Experiment, and Sunday Asylum (some other really darn good materials).