Hardcover, 288 pages
English language
Published Sept. 4, 2007 by Knopf.
Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her "second father" when she was placed in his care at age four when her parents left Haiti for America. So she experiences a jumble of emotions when, at twelve, she joins her parents in New York City, whom she struggles to remember--she has left behind Joseph and the only home she's ever known. The story of a new life in a new country while fearing for those still in Haiti soon becomes a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control. In 2004, his life threatened by a gang, the frail, 81-year-old Joseph makes his way to Miami, where he thinks he will be safe. Instead, he is detained by the Department of Homeland Security, brutally imprisoned, and dead within days. It was a story that made headlines around the world.--From publisher description.
Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her "second father" when she was placed in his care at age four when her parents left Haiti for America. So she experiences a jumble of emotions when, at twelve, she joins her parents in New York City, whom she struggles to remember--she has left behind Joseph and the only home she's ever known. The story of a new life in a new country while fearing for those still in Haiti soon becomes a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control. In 2004, his life threatened by a gang, the frail, 81-year-old Joseph makes his way to Miami, where he thinks he will be safe. Instead, he is detained by the Department of Homeland Security, brutally imprisoned, and dead within days. It was a story that made headlines around the world.--From publisher description.
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.
