A review by emmas_bookshelf
The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border by Julie Schwietert Collazo, Rosayra Pablo Cruz

5.0

The Book of Rosy is a first hand account of a woman from Guatemala who traveled through Central America and crossed the border into the United States and then was separated from her two children under the zero tolerance policy that went into effect in 2018. Her narrative also includes information about her life in Guatemala from 2008-2018, the struggles of her family, the cruelties of family separation, and living in New York City waiting for her asylum case to be heard in immigration court. There is also a portion from Julie’s POV; Julie founded Immigrant Families Together, a grassroots group that posted bonds and helped reunite detained women with their children and provided support while they waited for their asylum hearings. The stories of the horrors and human rights violations and children in cages at the border was not new to me. However, I found immense value in reading one woman’s story and understanding the poverty and violence which motivated her to take two of her children and go North. Her recounting of the journey, subsequent detention, and hopeful new life in NYC was told very matter-of-factly and yet was so moving.