Review: In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero

Title: In the Country We Love: My Family Divided
Author: Diane Guerrero
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publish Date: May 3, 2016
Source: Library

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "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 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."

My Two Cents:

"In the Country We Love" is a memoir by the actress Diane Guerrero. She can be seen in shows like Orange is the new Black. She's a great actress and I really enjoy watching her on that show but I knew little of her backstory. Although Diane and her family had been in this country for very long time, her parents were undocumented immigrants and were deported along with her brother when she was just 14 years old! Diane was left alone and forging her own way. It was incredibly difficult for her to essentially raise herself with the help of some kind family and friends.

Undocumented immigration is obviously a hot button topic during this election season and I really appreciated the human face that this book gave to that ordeal. It's so hard to imagine everything you've known being ripped away from you. I know that the subject must've been really difficult for Guerrero to talk about but I think it's so helpful to hear stories like that so that more people can understand that it's there's actually people out there that are truly effective not only is this it an important topic but this is a very well-written book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The writing of the book is good. Guerrero does not shy away from talking about some of the more difficult things that she faced as teen alone in the United States. She also doesn't shy away from showing how her parents' deportation has affected her even as an adult. This is a good book on a very timely subject.