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4.58 AVERAGE
4.58 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
If I could rate this book more than 5 stars, I would.
I could not put it down. I loved how it weaves Aida's story with a backdrop of immigration law, policy, and politics. As it says in the afterward, the book is "not really about Aida Hernandez. It is a story told in collaboration with Aida about the brutal consequences of policies she was, in Audre Lorde's poetic language, 'never meant to survive.'" (350). I've never read a book that so clearly demonstrates the real-world effects of policy on a person's individual circumstances.
Having lived in Tucson from 2009-2013, and Sonora from 2013-2014, this book also resonated with me because I recognized so many of the locations, but also realized how unaware I was of everything that was happening around me while I lived there. I went sky-diving in Eloy while Aida was in detention there. I crossed the border to Naco every month, just 30 minutes away from Agua Prieta. I've also been to Quito and San Salvador, so the portions of Ema's story were very vivid to me as well. This book reframed a lot of my memories from those times in my life.
I could not put it down. I loved how it weaves Aida's story with a backdrop of immigration law, policy, and politics. As it says in the afterward, the book is "not really about Aida Hernandez. It is a story told in collaboration with Aida about the brutal consequences of policies she was, in Audre Lorde's poetic language, 'never meant to survive.'" (350). I've never read a book that so clearly demonstrates the real-world effects of policy on a person's individual circumstances.
Having lived in Tucson from 2009-2013, and Sonora from 2013-2014, this book also resonated with me because I recognized so many of the locations, but also realized how unaware I was of everything that was happening around me while I lived there. I went sky-diving in Eloy while Aida was in detention there. I crossed the border to Naco every month, just 30 minutes away from Agua Prieta. I've also been to Quito and San Salvador, so the portions of Ema's story were very vivid to me as well. This book reframed a lot of my memories from those times in my life.
Incredibly well-written and well researched, this book falls somewhere “between journalism and ethnography, with a dash of oral history and biography” and illustrates that the militarization of the southern border does NOT keep U.S. citizens any safer; all it does is enrich corporations, give politicians a convenient platform, cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and punish the poorest of the poor.
“Aida had spent 316 days in immigration detention [in centers that are run by private corporations where ‘inmates’ have to beg for soap, shampoo, and tampons]. She had committed no crime worse than shoplifting [legos for her son], posted no threat to public safety, and, with her long ties to one hometown [the border city of Douglas, AZ], was unlikely to have fled. Nevertheless, U.S. taxpayers paid approximately $52,000 to keep her locked down in medium-security prison conditions. That year, Corrections Corporation of America, the company operating Eloy [the detention center, aka prison], logged almost $160 million in profit” (page 318).
If that isn’t obscene, then what is?
“Aida had spent 316 days in immigration detention [in centers that are run by private corporations where ‘inmates’ have to beg for soap, shampoo, and tampons]. She had committed no crime worse than shoplifting [legos for her son], posted no threat to public safety, and, with her long ties to one hometown [the border city of Douglas, AZ], was unlikely to have fled. Nevertheless, U.S. taxpayers paid approximately $52,000 to keep her locked down in medium-security prison conditions. That year, Corrections Corporation of America, the company operating Eloy [the detention center, aka prison], logged almost $160 million in profit” (page 318).
If that isn’t obscene, then what is?
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Raw.
Truth.
Reality.
Unfairness.
The reality of many undocumented immigrants & their family struggles trying to do and be the best they can be.
The living proof & journey of an immigrant’s survival.
Truth.
Reality.
Unfairness.
The reality of many undocumented immigrants & their family struggles trying to do and be the best they can be.
The living proof & journey of an immigrant’s survival.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders
The most compelling and authentic story that I have read. You can’t read this book and be the same person afterwards. Be prepared to invigorate your fight for immigrants and the sexual assault women face when they have to live invisible lives.
I had to read this book for a geography class that examines the Mexican-American borders. This book was great at being able to see the effects that political decisions regarding migrants have on the lives of those people. It teeters with the idea of a "good" vs. a "bad" immigrant by telling Aida's story. Definitely recommend it if you are interested in immigration policy, or the lives of immigrants.