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American Misfit: In Search of Reality
Paperback
Biographies GeneralPolish HistorySocial Movements
Publisher Price: $30.00
ISBN13: 9781966214106
Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
Published: Apr 17 2026
Pages: 146
Weight: 0.63
Height: 0.40 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
American Misfit: In Search of Reality interweaves personal experience with key historical events from the past half-century, showing how they shape individual consciousness. Grounded in Paul Ricoeur's theory of narrative-which sees storytelling as essential to understanding our world-Matthew Motyka recounts his multicultural journey. Raised in communist Poland, he spent his twenties in France before moving to the United States. Though he thrives as an immigrant, he confronts a lingering question: Why does America, generous to outsiders, resist being fully loved?
In search of answers, Motyka turns to European intellectuals such as Simone Weil, Leszek Kolakowski, Tzvetan Todorov, and Alain Finkielkraut, whose reflections on uprootedness, immigration, and alienation illuminate his own experience. This juxtaposition of personal story and historical context reveals the profound influence of global events on individual identity-and the difficulty of ever fully belonging to one's adopted home.
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