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A review by espiri_reads
Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas by Roberto Lovato
5.0
In order to understand immigration issues in the United States, you have to read this book. This poetic memoir weaves history and biography to give you a whole picture of the factors that impact Salvadoran lives both in El Salvador and in the United States. Sometimes it is hard to read, but these very facts are important to understand the context of the third largest population of Latinx living in the United States.
I have a deep appreciation for this book for personal reasons. I feel so much gratitude toward Roberto Lovato for giving a piece of my Salvadoran history back to me by writing this book.
I often feel so cut off from my family history and there are a lot of gaps in the history I do have. Even the last name that I grew up with was not my family's real last name. My great grandmother changed her indigenous name when she was young. And unfortunately, I will never really know the story of why it was changed. After reading this book and talking to several Salvadoran Bookstagrammers raised outside of El Salvador, I realize that not knowing is a common experience for a lot of us. A big reason for that is that a lot of the history has been purposely suppressed.
Enter the theme of the book which is about how important it is to stop the process of forgetting and to begin unforgetting.
Another important feature of this book is that he equally weaves together the history of El Salvador and the narrative of Salvadorans in the United States because there is a legacy that continues for people even when they move away from the homeland. This narrative is linked. In the case of El Salvador, the policies of both countries and the people in both countries have deeply influenced current events in both places.
In tracing his family history and finding some healing in the writing process, Lovato helped me understand more of my own history and find some healing as I processed this read.
I highly recommend to everyone who is connected to this history, everyone interested in understanding modern immigration issues, and all educators who work within immigrant communities in the US.
I have a deep appreciation for this book for personal reasons. I feel so much gratitude toward Roberto Lovato for giving a piece of my Salvadoran history back to me by writing this book.
I often feel so cut off from my family history and there are a lot of gaps in the history I do have. Even the last name that I grew up with was not my family's real last name. My great grandmother changed her indigenous name when she was young. And unfortunately, I will never really know the story of why it was changed. After reading this book and talking to several Salvadoran Bookstagrammers raised outside of El Salvador, I realize that not knowing is a common experience for a lot of us. A big reason for that is that a lot of the history has been purposely suppressed.
Enter the theme of the book which is about how important it is to stop the process of forgetting and to begin unforgetting.
Another important feature of this book is that he equally weaves together the history of El Salvador and the narrative of Salvadorans in the United States because there is a legacy that continues for people even when they move away from the homeland. This narrative is linked. In the case of El Salvador, the policies of both countries and the people in both countries have deeply influenced current events in both places.
In tracing his family history and finding some healing in the writing process, Lovato helped me understand more of my own history and find some healing as I processed this read.
I highly recommend to everyone who is connected to this history, everyone interested in understanding modern immigration issues, and all educators who work within immigrant communities in the US.