The Affairs of the Falcóns


Melissa Rivero - 2019
    Being undocumented, however, has significantly curtailed the family’s opportunities: Ana is indebted to a loan shark who calls herself Mama, and is stretched thin by unceasing shifts at her factory job. To make matters worse, Ana must also battle both criticism from Lucho’s cousin—who has made it obvious the family is not welcome to stay in her spare room for much longer—and escalating and unwanted attention from Mama’s husband. As the pressure builds, Ana becomes increasingly desperate. While Lucho dreams of returning to Peru, Ana is deeply haunted by the demons she left behind and determined to persevere in this new country. But how many sacrifices is she willing to make before admitting defeat and returning to Peru? And what lines is she willing to cross in order to protect her family? The Affairs of the Falcóns is a beautiful, deeply urgent novel about the lengths one woman is willing to go to build a new life, and a vivid rendering of the American immigrant experience.

Warriors: Life and Death Among the Somalis


Gerald Hanley - 1993
    A grueling description of a little-known aspect of WWII, Warriors describes a group of British Army soldiers charged with preventing bloodshed between feuding tribes at a remote outstation in Somalia. Hanley turns this period of his life, a difficult time that drove seven officers to suicide, into a devastating critique of imperialism.

The Children's Blizzard


Melanie BenjaminMelanie Benjamin - 2021
    At just the hour when most prairie schools were letting out for the day, a terrifying, fast-moving blizzard struck without warning. Schoolteachers as young as sixteen were suddenly faced with life and death decisions: keep the children inside, to risk freezing to death when fuel ran out, or send them home, praying they wouldn't get lost in the storm?Based on actual oral histories of survivors, the novel follows the stories of Raina and Gerda Olsen, two sisters, both schoolteachers--one who becomes a hero of the storm, and one who finds herself ostracized in the aftermath. It's also the story of Anette Pedersen, a servant girl whose miraculous survival serves as a turning point in her life and touches the heart of Gavin Woodson, a newspaperman seeking redemption. It is Woodson and others like him who wrote the embellished news stories that lured immigrants across the sea to settle a pitiless land. Boosters needed immigrants to settle territories into states, and they didn't care what lies they told them to get them there--or whose land it originally was.At its heart, this is a story of courage, of children forced to grow up too soon, tied to the land because of their parents' choices. It is a story of love taking root in the hard prairie ground, and of families being torn asunder by a ferocious storm that is little remembered today--because so many of its victims were immigrants to this country.

The Diversity Illusion: What We Got Wrong About Immigration & How to Set It Right


Ed West - 2012
    

So, You Want to Be Canadian: All About the Most Fascinating People in the World and the Magical Place They Call Home


Kerry Colburn - 2004
    This playful, trivia-packed book is a long-overdue celebration of all things Canadian, from the mysteries of "eh?" to the difference between an Ogo Pogo and a Windingo to how to prepare moose stroganoff (mmm!). Featuring a dreamy list of Canadian hotties, a toe-tapping roundup of Canadian smash hit songs, a handy CanadianAmerican translator, and pointers on how to eat, dress, and apologize like a Canadian if you weren't lucky enough to be born a Canuck, So, You Want to Be Canadian demonstrates once and for all why Canada is so cool (formerly just cold).

The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco


Cecilia Sun Yun Chiang - 2007
    In THE SEVENTH DAUGHTER, Chiang presents a classic collection of recipes framed by her gripping life's story. Beginning with her account of a privileged childhood in 1920s and 1930s Beijing, Chiang chronicles a 1,000-mile trek on foot in the wake of the Japanese occupation, her arrival in San Francisco, and her transformation from accidental restaurateur to culinary pioneer. The book's recipes feature cherished childhood dishes and definitive Mandarin classics, while showcasing Cecilia's purist approach to authentic Chinese home cooking.   • The signature recipes and extraordinary story of Cecilia Chiang, the grande dame of Chinese cooking in America.    • Includes more than 80 recipes, 20 full-color styled food photographs, and archival photography from Chiang's private collection.    • Recipes feature in-depth notes on sourcing ingredients and tips on simplifying the recipes.    • Features menus for putting together Chinese banquets and dinners at home.

We Never Asked for Wings


Vanessa Diffenbaugh - 2015
    For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, now fifteen, and Luna, six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life. Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she’s worked for and her family’s fragile hopes for the future. Vanessa Diffenbaugh blends gorgeous prose with compelling themes of motherhood, undocumented immigration, and the American Dream in a powerful and prescient story about family.

The Lemon Orchard


Luanne Rice - 2013
    Their enthusiasm is soon to be rewarded with The Lemon Orchard, Rice’s romantic new love story between two people from seemingly different worlds.In the five years since Julia last visited her aunt and uncle’s home in Malibu, her life has been turned upside down by her daughter’s death. She expects to find nothing more than peace and solitude as she house-sits with only her dog, Bonnie, for company. But she finds herself drawn to the handsome man who oversees the lemon orchard. Roberto expertly tends the trees, using the money to support his extended Mexican family. What connection could these two people share? The answer comes as Roberto reveals the heartbreaking story of his own loss—a pain Julia knows all too well, but for one striking difference: Roberto’s daughter was lost but never found. And despite the odds he cannot bear to give up hope.Set in the sea and citrus-scented air of the breathtaking Santa Monica Mountains, The Lemon Orchard is an affirming story about the redemptive power of compassion and the kind of love that seems to find us when we need it most.

Con Respeto: Bridging the Distances Between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools: An Ethnographic Portrait


Guadalupe Valdés - 1996
    Guadalupe Vald�s examines what appears to be a lack of interest in education by Mexican parents and shows, through extensive quotations and numerous anecdotes, that these families are both rich and strong in family values, and that they bring with them clear views of what constitutes success and failure. The book's conclusion questions the merit of typical family intervention programs designed to promote school success and suggests that these interventions--because they do not genuinely respect the values of diverse families--may have long-term negative consequences for children.Con Respeto will be a valuable resource in graduate courses in foundations, ethnographic research, sociology and anthropology of education, multicultural education, and child development; and will be of particular interest to professors and researchers of multicultural education, bilingual education, ethnographic research methods, and sociology and anthropology of education.

Carnival


Rawi Hage - 2012
    Fly is a reader, too, and when he’s not in his taxi he is at home in the equally dizzying labyrinth of books that fills his tiny apartment. His best friend is Otto, a political activist who’s in and out of jails and asylums, mourning his dead wife and lost foster son. On one otherwise tawdry night Fly meets Mary, a book-loving passenger with a domineering husband. So begins a romance that is, for Fly, a brief glimmer of light amid the shadows and grit of the Carnival city.Along with Otto and Mary, Fly introduces us to madmen and revolutionaries, magicians and prostitutes as he picks them up and drops them off, traveling through a nightmarish town that is—we can’t help but notice—a parable for our own debauched, unjust world.Wildly imaginative and darkly ironic, Carnival is a magnificent achievement.

Two Hands Together


Diana Kidd - 2000
    But Lily can't understand why her Dad doesn't like the Rileys. Why doesn't he want them to go over there? Why is he being so horrible and mean? Does something big have to happen to change his mind?

Ut av skyggene


Shazia Majid - 2019
    The book won the Booksellers best non-fiction award for 2020, and has been short listed for two other prestigious literary awards in Norway: The Brageprisen for best non-ficion in 2019. And the The Norwegian Literary Critics Award.The Norwegian-Pakistani award winning investigative journalist starts off by researching her own family history. Her research leads her to writing a comprehensive, in-depth account of the «other women» in Norwegian society.Painstaking, time-consuming, she sifts through the national archives for stories of the migrant woman. She does so with finesse and sensitivity. Traits otherwise denied to migrant women in the public discourse portraying them as helpless, the weak and incapable of agency.In an age of instantly delivered fake news and distorted historical narratives, the book is an anchor of quiet reflection, admirable characters and flawless prose. This book embraces the general while sweeping away the vast generalisations that have coloured debate in the national media. Furthermore the individual is revered as a high achieving member of society who has made vast contributions to the national exchequer. Shazia’s own story is compelling as is that of the family matriarch who against all odds raises 5 accomplished daughters. In depth interviews add substance to this brilliantly researched book. An important behind the scenes narrative that clearly illustrates how instant journalism colours current discourse and a book best described as significant, important and necessary. Norway has been shaped by women of ALL colours. And in the fight for gender equality, homes are an important battleground. And so these silent women are finally out of the shadows and history has been made.

Vietnamese Memories Vol.1: Leaving Saigon


Clément Baloup - 2006
    These are their stories.Clement Baloup intimately traces the paths of those who went to great lengths to seek asylum in unfamiliar lands, and against all odds, established prosperous communities rooted in the colorful culture and experiences of their past, while fostering a future unhindered by the political and personal turmoil that haunts their pasts.

Fear of the Other: No Fear in Love


William H. Willimon - 2016
    Rooted in the faith of Israel and the Christian story and vision, Willimon brings a Wesleyan perspective to bear on what may be the hardest thing for people of faith to do: keeping and loving the "Other" as they are - without any need for them to become like us.Emphasizing biblical teaching to receive Others for who they are and their differences as gifts and mysteries bearing the grace of God, Willimon also offers a strong critique of the privileged who all too often rush to speak of reconciliation and evade the injustice of huge inequalities faced by foreigners and strangers - as well as the antagonism the stranger experiences. He identifies concrete, everyday ways persons are formed in welcoming others without annihilating their differences.Rooted in the New Testament understanding of Gentile outsiders grafted into the covenant community, Willimon invites readers to an on-the-ground faith that remembers the God who comes to us again and again through so-called outsiders, strangers, immigrants, and those without status. Beyond welcome, Christians must become "other" to the world, shaking off the dominant culture's identity and privilege through practices of listening, humility, and understanding."I love Will Willimon, and I love this book. Will writes with prophetic sarcasm, a touch of humor, plenty of self-effacement, and a pastor's heart. And his words will make you laugh, cringe, cry, confess, and repent. This is a very timely book. I urge you, prospective reader, as you read this blurb on the back cover: buy and read it! You'll be grateful you did." --Adam Hamilton, senior pastor, The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, KS; author of Half Truths"This gutsy, biblically rich, theologically searing book by Willimon gigs everybody's sacred cow. Not only is the one whom Christ loves Other but God is Other. The ground beneath us shakes the walls that divide us. If you are holed-up happy with people who look like you, don't read this thing. It will screw up your world." --Tex Sample, Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church and Society, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, KS"Timely and prophetic, Willimon's call to love the Other will quickly take hold of your soul, changing your preaching and your life. This book is not just a reminder of our Christian calling to welcome the Other but a call to conversion, a new way of seeing the neighbor and a new way of being in the world God desperately loves." --Karoline M. Lewis, Marbury E. Anderson Chair of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN"Bishop Willimon's new book should come with a warning: Do not read unless you are ready to be changed and want to change the world!" --O. Wesley Allen Jr., Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX Now with a New Introduction!

Until We Reach Home


Lynn Austin - 2008
    When circumstances become unbearable, she determines to find a safe haven for her sisters.So begins their journey to America, the land of dreams and second chances.But as hardship becomes their constant companion, Elin, Kirsten, and Sofia question their decision to immigrate to Chicago. Will their hopes for the future ever be realized?