Welcome to Litsy!

Published in 2020 and probably written earlier, some political/policy details have changed, but the overarching stories of exploitation and abuse depressingly remain the same. The author, DACA recipient and Harvard grad, reports on the non-inspirational immigrant stories: day laborers, restaurant workers, delivery people, elderly. Weaving her story of the stress and illness of being undocumented into the stories of their unrelenting challenges.

This is a difficult read because it shines the light on pain and suffering, but it is an important look at the way undocumented immigrants are treated in the United States. The book is well written and engaging. The author is unusually involved in the lives and outcomes of the people she is interviewing, so there is a clear picture of the personal impact of these issues. I'm glad I read it.

My latest audio book. I‘m learning a lot from this, how shameful is it that the jobs these people do ( that no one else wants or would put up with ) make them sick and then there is no healthcare for them 😢

Highly recommended! Got this a couple years ago from Obama's best book list.

#12Booksof2022 my May pick ! It has stuck with me . Karla meets the undocumented where they live and work &shares their experiences ,often heartbreaking. Tales of exploitation, grief, while trying to create a better life. There is plenty of blame to go around for both major parties infighting or ignoring that our immigration policies are a shambles.And DACA ! Don‘t get me started.

Here‘s the reality, & it will break your heart.Kara gets past the standard story by meeting the undocumented where they work& live .Abuse , wage theft, & exploitation are the tip of the iceberg. I pushed this to the top after reading @Suet624 her wonderful review.An essential read.

I had no idea how many undocumented Americans worked at ground zero doing recovery and clean up and how many of them were denied pay after working, denied healthcare after becoming ill from the conditions there.
This author unflinchingly describes situations across the country where the undocumented are abused, taken advantage of, and ignored. I admire her tenacity and devotion to helping others both by writing their stories and by encouragement.

Two pages in and I could tell this is going to be a great book. Six pages in and I can unequivocally say that this will be one of the best books I read all year…

Finished my last read of 2021 around 10pm last night.

So im a year behind Obama in my reading! I‘ll catch up - promise! 🤣 #bestbooks2020

“For many years when I have heard nice people try to be respectful about describing undocumented people, I‘ve heard them call us “undocumented workers” as euphemism, as if there was something uncouth about being just an undocumented person standing with your hands clasped together or at your sides.”

Many of us [the "undocumented"] are indigenous in part or whole and do not believe borders should exist at all. I personally subscribe to Dr. King's definition of an "un just law" as being "out of harmony with the moral law." And the higher moral law here is that people have a human right to move, to change location, if they experience hunger, poverty, violence, or lack of opportunity...

But as an undocumented immigrant, everything we do is technically against the law. We're illegal.

What I saw in Flint was a microcosm of the way the government treats the undocumented everywhere, making the conditions in this country as deadly and toxic and inhumane as possible so that we will self deport. What I saw in Flint was what I had seen everywhere else, what I had felt in my own poisoned blood and bones. Being killed softly, silently, and with impunity.

So ready for the holiday weekend!

#AudioWalk On my way to meet one of my favorite people @KarenUK 💕

I loved the brutal honesty of the author. I think everyone should read this book. Really eye opening.

Quick read. It grew on me. I found a lot of the narrator‘s little personal insertions annoying. But I liked it. The stories are magnetic and I am better for knowing them.

Sad and painful book to read at times. Elements remind me of Homeland Elegies. Glad that I read it.

2021.01.18 🎧⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed the personal stories she shared of a wide variety of undocumented people. I had a hard time connecting with her personal story and thoughts though. Did some #audiocrocheting work on my throw for my reading chair. #hookersoflitsy

I listened to the audiobook, read by the author. This is a must read.

In short: this book is amazing. Brutally honest creative nonfiction conveying stories of Undocumented Americans, with the author's personal story weaved through it. This book should make you feel complex feelings at the least, and will likely make you angry in a righteous way. What a book.

Cornejo Villavicencio is unflinching and vulnerable. I am not Latinx, but for many reasons there are many parts of me that feel like I am, and Cornejo Villavicencio captures the many complexities and nuances of being 1) undocumented and 2) 1-, 1.5-, 2nd-gen Latinx in this country.

I love the genre of narrative nonfiction but I feel like this writer didn‘t entirely succeed in her goals - in fact she seemed to consistently undermine them

The first book I‘m diving into in 2021! Let‘s hope this year is so much better than the last!

This book embodies Defiance. Defiant against what is legal, what is normal, what is accepted. Defiant in using the author‘s name and including her experience and status. Defiant in choosing to tell the stories of the Undocumented. And in the author's defiance, she challenges our preconceived stereotypes of undocumented immigrants, gives them a face, a story, and reminds us of their humanity. Highly recommend because this is so important.

Finally decided on these 3 books as two of them were already on my tbr list 😊
This ladies books picks are amazing and I have added quiet a few to my tbr list as well, now to find them. @monalyisha 💫 @Megabooks 🎄

#newyearwhodis #librarybook #readingthelibrary #disabilityvisibility #januaryreads #newyear #merrychristmas

This was a very interesting reading experience. The author writes about her own life and those of other undocumented people. One thing she did really well is show how so many issues and major events (including 9/11 and it‘s aftermath) affect and are affected by immigration issues.

#NFN2020 #NFN20

This was pretty much perfect. The writing, the language, the emotional tone, the depth and detail of the storytelling, the elements of memoir, even the author‘s audio narration. Highly, highly recommend it.

This book looks at the lives and realities of undocumented people working as day laborers in the US. This book shows these people for who they are: hard working, poorly treated human beings. These are people who often don‘t have a voice, yet it‘s vital for their voices to be heard. Solid book. Read by the author, an undocumented American.

#bookspinbingo audio edition free space

An important look at undocumented immigrants in this election year. Karla is an undocumented immigrant & Harvard grad. She shares the stress her particular journey has caused and also her parents‘ journey through the book.

She speaks to a diverse swath of immigrants, from day laborers on Staten Island to Haitians in Miami to immigrants dealing with the massive crisis in Flint, MI.

These are hardworking members of the US, and they deserve better.

September nonfiction wrap up!
The Undocumented Americans mostly focuses on people who are working in cities, but then she travels to Willard to interview a family in a rural Ohio! These stories are so important.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I understand the hype.
This memoir, coupled with interviews/essays about the undocumented immigrant experience in America is lyrical, brave and brilliant.

These are my hopefuls for #LatinxHeritageMonth!

I‘m currently reading THE UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS and it is fantastic. Infuriating? Yes. But so good and should be required reading for all.

This books tells the truth about undocumented people and learned so much. I don‘t normally read nonfiction, this is my second and I really enjoyed it. Some parts were difficult for me to read because it‘s hard not to imagine my fathers journey when he immigrated here illegally and was undocumented for some time. Luckily he got his citizenship when I was around 8. I remember the day because we had a cake. We could all finally breathe again.
5⭐️‘s

I started this book before I attended a virtual event hosted by an amazing insta account called We All Grow Latina, where the author talked about her writing and the people she met. The discussion was amazing and I‘m really happy I decided to attend.

This book is so amazing and difficult to read but def one to add to your tbr.

#currentread

I can‘t recommend this book enough. It‘s visceral, painful, descriptive, emotive.

This book sheds a light on the undocumented Americans who aren‘t DACA, yet power America daily. (I didn‘t know all the work that day laborers did at Ground Zero.) It was also informative about the impact of medical care, threats of ICE deportations, family dynamics, etc. The writing style was vulnerable and cheeky, funny and heartbreaking.

Book 86
The author intertwines her experiences with those of other undocumented Americans. She writes with snarkiness and vulnerability, swinging between compassion and hopelessness. As a citizen, I am more disappointed with my country after reading this.

Boosting the signal on this #ownvoices #dignidadliteraria book. Unlike a previously published fictional account with massive publisher backing (and stereotypical representation of the people it supposedly meant to "humanize"), this book of actual stories from actual people is not being given wide exposure. Please consider reading this book, if you truly wish to be "part of the conversation."

I have spent my lovely Maine weekend relaxing in my hammock, reading great books and staring at our rhododendron, which I think always loses its blossoms too soon. Yesterday I read The Southern Book Club‘s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, which I thought was great fun. It gave me (old) Fright Night vibes. Now I‘m going to read these, which I just noticed have kinda similar covers. What are you reading today? 🌹📚🍑

Starting this one with anger, trepidation, and hope.
#ARC #NetGalley
Out March 24, 2020