Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.58 AVERAGE
4.58 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Vivid, immersive narrative, and an empathetic portrayal of a vulnerable but tenacious woman's life. I was impressed by the author's close collaboration with Aida, allowing her a sense of agency in her portrayal, with careful fact-checking. The complexity and danger of immigration is clearly communicated here. So many factors cause working class people to immigrate, and for Aida it's a matter of rebuilding both body and soul. I appreciated the opportunity to read more about the someone whose life was shaped by both sides of the border. The pacing is tight, quite tense at times, yet the emotional worlds of Aida, her family, and her wife have depth.
This book talks about the history of immigration policies and how they affect one family. Highly recomnend
I'm biased because Aaron was my college advisor and we talked about this book in its very early stages but this is easily the best book I've read all year and probably longer. An absolutely essential, complicated, humanizing and uncomfortable look at U.S. immigration policy through the stories of some of the women who have borne the brunt of it.
Aida Hernandez is nine-years-old when her mother brings her across the Mexico-US border for a better life. Eventually, Aida is deported. She is then beaten (almost to death) and gets a medical visa to come back to the United States for humanitarian medical treatment. She overstays that visa. Then she does something silly and ends up getting in trouble yet again. That -- however -- is a huge oversimplification of this story.
The author discusses political immigration, domestic policy, and of course the terror that immigrant women face -- often abused, threatened to be deported, beaten, raped, etc. This is worthy of a read if you're interested in human suffering, the border, etc.
The author discusses political immigration, domestic policy, and of course the terror that immigrant women face -- often abused, threatened to be deported, beaten, raped, etc. This is worthy of a read if you're interested in human suffering, the border, etc.
I really do not know where to start with how unbelievable this book is. Bobrow-Strain has created a narrative of a woman's life at the border of this country that is so beautiful, sensitive, honest, anger-inducing, and empathetic. Intertwined with the absolutely compelling, incredible story of Aida is the most amazing history of of US immigration policy at the Mexican border, painstakingly and stunningly constructed in a way that leaves little doubt that we have wasted billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives in a dehumanizing race to "other" people who are deserving of our gratitude and sympathy. My god. You cannot read this book and come away unshaken or unashamed by US treatment of Mexican and Central American people. And Bobrow-Strain is to be massively commended by the incredible sensitivity and love of his narrative. This book is an incredible achievement both as a biography and as geopolitical history, not to be missed. If I could give it any criticism, Id say it could use slightly tighter editing in the first third of the book, because its initial sections felt slightly too long and overly detailed. But otherwise, its a masterpiece , and something that should be required reading for all US citizens, to know and understand what we as a country have done to so many in the name of baseless fear and bigotry and absolute dehumanizing greed. We can and must do so much better.
Wow, this def belongs on a required reading list. In one book Bobrow-Strain covers personal narratives, complex histories and policies stemming from both sides of the border that contribute to push- and pull-factors for migrants forced to leave their home countries, the dangers they face, the daily stresses of living in constant fear in the U.S., the imbalance of protection and justice, the fact that seeking asylum is NOT a criminal offense but a Constitution-protected right, juxtaposed against the reality of how asylum seekers (including children) are treated in deliberately cruel ways to "discourage migration." As if.
Bobrow-Strain does all of this, local and transnational socio-historical contexts, through a thoughtful, poetic, and insightful story about Aida Hernandez. Her struggles are real, her contexts are recognizable, and the great need for understanding complex PTSD as a child migrant and survivor of domestic violence is so imperative. Bobrow-Strain includes the back stories of her father, whose past involvement in guerrilla politics sheds light on the corruption of Mexico's elite against its powerless, thus dissolving the "go back where you came from" option for countless. Ema, talented soccer player whose sexuality almost causes a rift with her mother, is forced to leave Ecuador due to the dire work situation. Rosie is a champion social worker who discovers her voice for helping others after surviving brutal hardships, and thus she can creatively give voice to her radio listeners while playing Colombian cumbias or listening to her many clients. As a reader, you'll learn a lot about both countries, the legal system for immigration and how it too often plays against htem, as Bobrow-Strain has done his homework. Definitely a slower read for me, due to the weight of the subject matter (one sentence referred to a tree in the Sonora Desert heavily weighed down with the underwear of raped women "displayed as trophies.") Lots of details about trauma, which is so necessary for empathy, but also huge trigger warning, and this is for those of us with the luxury of reading about these events and taking breaks in the reading. Still, this title goes on my "Highly Recommend" list.
Bobrow-Strain does all of this, local and transnational socio-historical contexts, through a thoughtful, poetic, and insightful story about Aida Hernandez. Her struggles are real, her contexts are recognizable, and the great need for understanding complex PTSD as a child migrant and survivor of domestic violence is so imperative. Bobrow-Strain includes the back stories of her father, whose past involvement in guerrilla politics sheds light on the corruption of Mexico's elite against its powerless, thus dissolving the "go back where you came from" option for countless. Ema, talented soccer player whose sexuality almost causes a rift with her mother, is forced to leave Ecuador due to the dire work situation. Rosie is a champion social worker who discovers her voice for helping others after surviving brutal hardships, and thus she can creatively give voice to her radio listeners while playing Colombian cumbias or listening to her many clients. As a reader, you'll learn a lot about both countries, the legal system for immigration and how it too often plays against htem, as Bobrow-Strain has done his homework. Definitely a slower read for me, due to the weight of the subject matter (one sentence referred to a tree in the Sonora Desert heavily weighed down with the underwear of raped women "displayed as trophies.") Lots of details about trauma, which is so necessary for empathy, but also huge trigger warning, and this is for those of us with the luxury of reading about these events and taking breaks in the reading. Still, this title goes on my "Highly Recommend" list.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I struggled with this one. I chose this one because I want to educate myself on life for families living at the border of US and Mexico. The parts I read do ring very true to what I have seen in the news. I do believe it is an important read, but the story was so dense that I had difficulty getting through the chapters. I put it down several times, and just couldn't get back into it. I will still promote this story to my students. I think many will connect.
a powerful and heartbreaking book. the author does an amazing job of shifting between Aida's life and the historical, political, and cultural circumstances that shape her reality.