Here We Are

 

Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares by Aarti Namdev Shahani
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shahani writes a beautiful memoir of her experience in coming to America as a child with her family, her father's struggle to find his place and the consequences of being an immigrant accused of a crime. (Interestingly, as far as I could tell, she never explained if he was actually innocent or guilty of the crime). Throughout she covers several issues: growing up in America while trying to balance with her family's traditions, the tension of the newfound opportunities for women in America vs. traditional roles, the easy targets that immigrants make for both criminals and scapegoats for the legal system, the no-win situation that some immigrants find themselves in, with deportation being the ultimate and final outcome regardless, and the truth that the American dream is still not equally accessible and maybe not the ultimate destination for every situation. Intriguing, insightful, and well-written, it was a thoughtful and interesting read.

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A fight without a resolution.  Dad smoked to cope with real world pressures.  Mom hated cigarettes because they killed.  Where one saw life, the other saw death.

What a difference the tiniest bit of knowledge makes.