In the Country We Love: My Family Divided
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
"Diane Guerrero, the television actress from the megahit Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, was just fourteen years old on the day her parents and brother were arrested and deported to Colombia while she was at school. Born in the U.S., Guerrero was able to remain in the country and continue her education, depending on the kindness of family friends who took her in and helped her build a life and a successful acting career for herself, without the support system of her family. In the Country We Love is a moving, heartbreaking story of one woman's extraordinary resilience in the face of the nightmarish struggles of undocumented residents in this country. There are over 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US, many of whom have citizen children, whose lives here are just as precarious, and whose stories haven't been told. Written with Michelle Burford, this memoir is a tale of personal triumph that also casts a much-needed light on the fears that haunt the daily existence of families likes the author's and on a system that fails them over and over"--
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This was a funny and at times heart-wrenching memoir. Guerrero (and her ghostwriter) have a very breezy, cas tone throughout, even when discussing her parents' deportation when she was age 14. It's a great case study in how screwed up our immigration system can be–Diane was born in the US, so she's a citizen, but when her parents were deported, no one in the system knew that they'd essentially abandoned an orphan in the US. She was able to stay with friends and finish high school, but it's chilling to think about children being left behind with no support system. Guerrero also writes about dealing with learning disabilities and mental illness/suicidal thoughts. Finally, she ends on an uplifting note with her TV success and getting involved with activism for immigration reform, including a charming recollection of her visit to the White House.
(somewhat tragically, she also actively encourages young readers to get out there and vote because some of the candidates in 2016 have horrifiying plans for immigration...sorry D we dropped the ball there)
Recommended for fans of Diane Guerrero's acting work and/or anyone looking to put a human face to undocumented immigration! At our library we have this in our teen collection and I think it's great for teen readers–much of the story is about her teen years and I think it would be very relatable to kids panicking about college, etc even if they didn't have her additional layers of stress.
