Hardcover, 288 pages
English language
Published Sept. 4, 2007 by Knopf.
From the age of four, award-winning writer Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph as her "second father," when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for America. And so she was both elated and saddened when, at twelve, she joined her parents and youngest brothers in New York City. As Edwidge made a life in a new country, adjusting to being far away from so many who she loved, she and her family continued to fear for the safety of those still in Haiti as the political situation deteriorated. In 2004, they entered into a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control. Brother I'm Dying is an astonishing true-life epic, told on an intimate scale by one of our finest writers.From the Trade Paperback edition.
A lovely and haunting true story of trying to remain a connected family in times of immigration and globalization.
A memoir of two fathers - one, the biological father of the author who moved to America, the other the uncle who took care of Danticat and her brother until their natural parents could afford to bring them to New York. As the memoir opens, the author learns she is pregnant the day she learns her father is dying. During this time, her uncle comes to the US for medical treatment after his home and church have been overtaken by rioters, and at age 81 ends up in Krome, the detention facility in Florida where unauthorized aliens are detained. Though he had a visa, he answered questions the wrong way. Before Danticat can see him or get him released, he falls sick and dies. Danticat tells it all with an amazing lack of anger. She lets the record (including a checklist from the detention center) speak for itself. A very …
A memoir of two fathers - one, the biological father of the author who moved to America, the other the uncle who took care of Danticat and her brother until their natural parents could afford to bring them to New York. As the memoir opens, the author learns she is pregnant the day she learns her father is dying. During this time, her uncle comes to the US for medical treatment after his home and church have been overtaken by rioters, and at age 81 ends up in Krome, the detention facility in Florida where unauthorized aliens are detained. Though he had a visa, he answered questions the wrong way. Before Danticat can see him or get him released, he falls sick and dies. Danticat tells it all with an amazing lack of anger. She lets the record (including a checklist from the detention center) speak for itself. A very sad and upsetting book. Her essay in the New York Times last Father's Day is a moving tribute to families divided by our immigration policies.
