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4.58 AVERAGE
4.58 AVERAGE
Excellently written, heartbreaking, and informational all in one. This opened my eyes about the struggles migrants go through and I now want to research even more and get invested in helping individuals who cross the border.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
I've never read a book like this before. Bobrow-Strain combines narrative storytelling, nonfiction journalism techniques, ethnography, history, and political analysis into a compelling story of a woman's life on both sides of the border.
As someone who thinks a lot about how to ethically and responsibly tell stories of people who have marginalized identities, I appreciated Bobrow-Strain's explanation of his deeply collaborative work with Aida and her family. This book will serve as a model for me and shows me that it is possible to be a writer who accountable to--and building power with-- a community.
It's amazing how much life this book contains, in addition to factual information. I recommend this book to anyone curious to learn more about the effects of US-Mexico border policies, cycles of trauma, relationships between women, or state violence.
The book refused the good-bad binary that is so often used to support certain model immigrants at the expense of others. Aida's story is gripping, intriguing, funny, sad, joyful, unique, and inspiring--like so many of our lives. I felt palpably through this storytelling that human worth is not conditional. Amid a legal system that relies on cold and technical language, and in a media culture that thrives on sensational stories, I felt incredibly grounded to simply sit and bear witness to Aida's rich and varied life story. It cannot be apolitical.
As someone who thinks a lot about how to ethically and responsibly tell stories of people who have marginalized identities, I appreciated Bobrow-Strain's explanation of his deeply collaborative work with Aida and her family. This book will serve as a model for me and shows me that it is possible to be a writer who accountable to--and building power with-- a community.
It's amazing how much life this book contains, in addition to factual information. I recommend this book to anyone curious to learn more about the effects of US-Mexico border policies, cycles of trauma, relationships between women, or state violence.
The book refused the good-bad binary that is so often used to support certain model immigrants at the expense of others. Aida's story is gripping, intriguing, funny, sad, joyful, unique, and inspiring--like so many of our lives. I felt palpably through this storytelling that human worth is not conditional. Amid a legal system that relies on cold and technical language, and in a media culture that thrives on sensational stories, I felt incredibly grounded to simply sit and bear witness to Aida's rich and varied life story. It cannot be apolitical.
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
The book opens with a short account of a brutal attack on Aida Hernandez, who was left for dead. The reader should take note of the title. The words “life” and “death” are transposed, and the reason becomes clear later. This detailed account of Aida’s life is not chronological, which works in this book. This true story is set on the U.S-Mexico border in Douglas, Arizona. Border stories are so much more complex than news accounts can convey. Many residents of the U.S. can’t even imagine how complicated the politics, policies and history of the border are. Too many don’t care to know. The account of Aida Hernandez’s life successfully conveys why this border is so contentious, and the extent of the tragedies that affect so many living along it.
Aida Hernandez was brought across the border at a very young age. Her family was from a small Mexican town on the Arizona border opposite the town of Douglas, Arizona. Some family members had gained legal residency in the U.S., while some lived in Douglas without legal status. This was the result of ever-changing U.S. border policies, which confound families like the Hernandezes. In this account, few Americans, including politicians, public servants, and educators, knew the ins-and-outs of the policies and laws affecting the status of Mexican-born people found on the other side of the border.
The book provides a background of the history of US-Mexico border policy, as well as detailing relevant events in US and Mexican history. In 1982, Mexico experienced a severe debt crisis which immediately devalued their currency. Businesses were lost, and people’s savings evaporated. Middle class people were plunged into poverty. This was the impetus that pushed many Mexicans to enter the U.S. both legally and illegally. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed a sweeping immigration reform bill into law. This law provided amnesty for any immigrant who had entered the U.S. before 1982.
For decades, Mexican citizens living across the border from Douglas crossed daily for work, to shop in stores such as Walmart for consumer goods, and even sent their children to school there. Many of the young residents of Douglas like Aida had grown up there without any real awareness of their legal status. Families had members who were legal residents and citizens, and members who were not. This was common along the border from Arizona to Texas and movement back and forth was a part of daily life. Crackdowns in the 1990’s brought this to a stop. This is the time period covered in the story of Aida Hernandez.
Aida is a young woman in her late teens, who becomes a victim of violence – domestic violence, and violence at the hand of strangers. She lives a somewhat chaotic life, not uncommon for too many children and youth living in poverty. She makes bad choices. Her situation is made significantly worse because of her lack of legal status in the U.S. Although she has lived nearly her entire life in Douglas, at one point she is deported to Mexico. Tragically, there are laws that could have shielded her as her abusive husband was a U.S. citizen. But few of the public servants, including police and immigration officers, were aware of these laws. Aida and her son suffer separation and trauma because of this.
There are times when readers will feel frustrated in the face of careless choices and stupid mistakes that Aida makes. It might be easy to blame the difficulties she encounters on her behavior. On the other hand, she has few resources, and lacks the skills to do this on her own. She is a young woman with potential and intelligence, but small mistakes that she makes end up putting her in jeopardy. At the heart of her problems is an environment in which brutal domestic violence against women is rampant. It is extreme in Mexico where the lives of women have too little value. Yet, on the other side of the border, in Douglas, Arizona, we see a community, and perhaps a wider society, that fails to protect women and children.
This is a book that, if nothing else, will provide the reader with a complex portrayal of the U.S. border situation. I highly recommend it.
Aida Hernandez was brought across the border at a very young age. Her family was from a small Mexican town on the Arizona border opposite the town of Douglas, Arizona. Some family members had gained legal residency in the U.S., while some lived in Douglas without legal status. This was the result of ever-changing U.S. border policies, which confound families like the Hernandezes. In this account, few Americans, including politicians, public servants, and educators, knew the ins-and-outs of the policies and laws affecting the status of Mexican-born people found on the other side of the border.
The book provides a background of the history of US-Mexico border policy, as well as detailing relevant events in US and Mexican history. In 1982, Mexico experienced a severe debt crisis which immediately devalued their currency. Businesses were lost, and people’s savings evaporated. Middle class people were plunged into poverty. This was the impetus that pushed many Mexicans to enter the U.S. both legally and illegally. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed a sweeping immigration reform bill into law. This law provided amnesty for any immigrant who had entered the U.S. before 1982.
For decades, Mexican citizens living across the border from Douglas crossed daily for work, to shop in stores such as Walmart for consumer goods, and even sent their children to school there. Many of the young residents of Douglas like Aida had grown up there without any real awareness of their legal status. Families had members who were legal residents and citizens, and members who were not. This was common along the border from Arizona to Texas and movement back and forth was a part of daily life. Crackdowns in the 1990’s brought this to a stop. This is the time period covered in the story of Aida Hernandez.
Aida is a young woman in her late teens, who becomes a victim of violence – domestic violence, and violence at the hand of strangers. She lives a somewhat chaotic life, not uncommon for too many children and youth living in poverty. She makes bad choices. Her situation is made significantly worse because of her lack of legal status in the U.S. Although she has lived nearly her entire life in Douglas, at one point she is deported to Mexico. Tragically, there are laws that could have shielded her as her abusive husband was a U.S. citizen. But few of the public servants, including police and immigration officers, were aware of these laws. Aida and her son suffer separation and trauma because of this.
There are times when readers will feel frustrated in the face of careless choices and stupid mistakes that Aida makes. It might be easy to blame the difficulties she encounters on her behavior. On the other hand, she has few resources, and lacks the skills to do this on her own. She is a young woman with potential and intelligence, but small mistakes that she makes end up putting her in jeopardy. At the heart of her problems is an environment in which brutal domestic violence against women is rampant. It is extreme in Mexico where the lives of women have too little value. Yet, on the other side of the border, in Douglas, Arizona, we see a community, and perhaps a wider society, that fails to protect women and children.
This is a book that, if nothing else, will provide the reader with a complex portrayal of the U.S. border situation. I highly recommend it.
The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez was a tough read, but so important for anyone privileged enough to view the immigration system from a far. Aida’s story is heartbreaking yet hopeful. The personal stories of the Hernandez family and those close to them made the political and historical contexts of their situations understandable. I have a deeper grasp on U.S. border policy and the reasons for attitudes and opinions on both sides of the debate. It’s a long and heavy read, but so important. I highly recommend this book!
Highly, highly recommend. Anyone who lives in the US needs to read this, as should anyone who lives in a country with borders. Educational, engaging, and thoughtful. An all around great read which left me feeling informed, incensed and wanting to dig deeper into history, methodology, and current events.