In the Country We Love
My Family Divided (Updated With New Material)
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ISBN10: 125013496X
ISBN13: 9781250134967
Trade Paperback
272 Pages
$18.99
CA$24.99
An Alex Award Winner
Diane Guerrero, the television actress from the mega-hit Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, was just fourteen years old on the day her parents were detained and deported 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 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 bestselling author 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.
Reviews
Praise for In the Country We Love
"In the Country We Love is a necessary story for our times . . . It is a heartrending memoir that humanizes the story of America’s immigration policies and helps us all find a way to understand the challenging questions and ineffective strategies of current policies and practices."—San Antonio News-Express
“Orange Is the New Black actress Guerrero delivers an affecting tale of a childhood lived in the margins . . . lovingly detailed in colloquial and well-paced prose . . . The author's candor in chronicling the lowest moments of her life reads like an urgent confessional . . . The author's greatest strength lies in her ability to advocate for undocumented immigrants and others affected by immigration status: 'I've written the book that I wish I could have read when I was that girl.' A moving, humanizing portrait of the collateral damage caused by America's immigration policy."—Kirkus Reviews
"Guerrero relates her struggle to hold her life together, get through high school and college, and find her feet in the world—challenges that will resonate with many readers . . . [She] writes with humor and heartbreaking honesty. Offering readers the story she needed to hear as a child, Guerrero shines a light on this country's flawed immigration system, eloquently calling for reform without diminishing her appreciation for the opportunities U.S. citizenship has afforded her. A timely and enlightening read."—Booklist
"Guerrero, 14 at the time, was left on her own with no government oversight whatsoever, a harrowing situation that she recounts with honesty, pathos, and bravery . . . Guerrero transforms a truly terrible situation into something meaningful, using her story and her role as an Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization by the White House to try to help other immigrant families left in this terrible position."—Publishers Weekly
Reviews from Goodreads
About the author
Diane Guerrero with Michelle Burford
