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Book Summary and Reviews of In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford

In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford

In the Country We Love

My Family Divided

by Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford

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  • Published:
  • May 2016, 272 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The star of Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin presents her personal story of the real plight of undocumented immigrants in this country

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 were detained 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 bestselling author 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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Guerrero transforms a truly terrible situation into something meaningful, using her story and her role as an Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization by the White House to try to help other immigrant families left in this terrible position." - Publishers Weekly

"Offering readers the story she needed to hear as a child, Guerrero shines a light on this country's flawed immigration system, eloquently calling for reform without diminishing her appreciation for the opportunities US citizenship has afforded her. A timely and enlightening read." - Booklist

"This touching memoir will resonate with teens who love acting as well as those who want to know more about of the lives of immigrants and refugees, or have experienced a similar situation to Guerrero's." - School Library Journal

"A moving, humanizing portrait of the collateral damage caused by America's immigration policy." - Kirkus Reviews

This information about In the Country We Love was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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More Information

Diane Guerrero is an actress on the hit shows Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin. She volunteers with the nonprofit Immigrant Legal Resource Center, as well as with Mi Familia Vota, an organization that promotes civic involvement. She has been named an Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization by the White House. She lives in New York City.

Michelle Burford is a founding editor of O, The Oprah Magazine and writer of many best-selling books including memoirs by Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, singer Toni Braxton, and Cleveland kidnap survivor Michelle Knight.

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