The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border

by Rosayra Pablo Cruz, Julie Schwietert Collazo

Overview

“Offers hope in the face of desperate odds” – ELLE Magazine, ELLE’s Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020

“[D]isturbing and unforgettable memoir…This wrenching story brings to vivid life the plight of the many families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.” – Publisher’s Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“[The] haunting and eloquent…narrative of a Guatemalan woman's desperate search for a better life." -Kirkus, STARRED Review

PEOPLE Magazine Best Books of Summer 2020

TIME Magazine Best Books of Summer 2020

PARADE Best Books of Summer 2020 

Compelling and urgently important, The Book of Rosy is the unforgettable story of one brave mother and her fight to save her family.

When Rosayra “Rosy” Pablo Cruz made the agonizing decision to seek asylum in the United States with two of her children, she knew the journey would be arduous, dangerous, and quite possibly deadly. But she had no choice: violence—from gangs, from crime, from spiraling chaos—was making daily life hell. Rosy knew her family’s one chance at survival was to flee Guatemala and go north.

After a brutal journey that left them dehydrated, exhausted, and nearly starved, Rosy and her two little boys arrived at the Arizona border. Almost immediately they were seized and forcibly separated by government officials under the Department of Homeland Security’s new “zero tolerance” policy. To her horror Rosy discovered that her flight to safety had only just begun.

In The Book of Rosy, with an unprecedented level of sharp detail and soulful intimacy, Rosy tells her story, aided by Julie Schwietert Collazo, founder of Immigrant Families Together, the grassroots organization that reunites mothers and children. She reveals the cruelty of the detention facilities, the excruciating pain of feeling her children ripped from her arms, the abiding faith that staved off despair—and the enduring friendship with Julie, which helped her navigate the darkness and the bottomless Orwellian bureaucracy.

A gripping account of the human cost of inhumane policies, The Book of Rosy is also a paean to the unbreakable will of people united by true love, a sense of justice, and hope for a better future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062941923
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	222,649
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Rosayra Pablo Cruz es madre de cuatro hijos. Era dueña de una pequeña tienda de ropa en Guatemala antes de llegar a los Estados Unidos. Ahora que vive en Nueva York, es la copresidenta de la Asociación de Padres y Maestros de su hijo mayor y está activa en su iglesia y comunidad.

Julie Schwietert Collazo es una escritora, editora y traductora bilingue (inglés-español), y ex terapeuta de artes creativas. Ha co-escrito y editado un libro sobre el Papa Francisco, que ha sido traducido a más de una docena de idiomas y es un bestseller en Italia. Su trabajo ha aparecido en varios medios de comunicación, incluyendo Outside, Scientific American, Discover, Latina, The Guardian y Time, y ha contribuido a varios libros. Vive en Nueva York.

Table of Contents

Part I

1 The Visit 3

2 Doors 19

3 Hunger 37

4 The Migrant Highway 53

5 Trucks 69

6 Arrival 95

7 The Icebox 101

8 Separation 107

9 Lockup 111

10 Takeoff and Landing 125

11 Reunion 135

Part II

12 A Wild Idea 143

13 Rebuilding a Family 181

Part III

14 Bittersweet Season 191

15 School Days 201

16 The Horizon 205

Epilogue 217

Recommended Reading 231

How to Get Involved 235

Acknowledgments-Rosy 239

Acknowledgments-Julie 243

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/23/2020

This disturbing and unforgettable memoir follows the path of Guatemalan mother Pablo Cruz, who fled to the U.S. in 2018 with her two sons after her husband is murdered, she herself is shot, and her oldest son is threatened by criminals. Writing with Schwietert Collazo, who initiated the Immigrant Families Together grassroots organization to aid mothers detained at the U.S. border, Pablo Cruz narrates her agonizing eight-day journey to the border crammed in a truck with other refugees and her 81 days in a cell after being separated by ICE agents from her boys (ages five and 15). In the months without her boys, who are placed in foster care in the Bronx while she remains in Arizona, Pablo Cruz paints a heartbreaking picture of the many incarcerated mothers who spend hours weeping and praying together. A devout evangelical Christian, Pablo Cruz draws upon her faith to see her through the desolation and despair, and eventually her prayers are answered by a group of angry, “bad-ass ladies” from Immigrant Families Together who raise a $12,000 bond for her release. This wrenching story brings to vivid life the plight of the many families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Offers an unflinching look at conditions in U.S. detention centers and a sobering reminder of the power of policy to change lives”

Booklist

06/01/2020

Cruz and Collazo (founder, Immigrant Families Together) chronicle Cruz's journey as a migrant from Guatemala to the United States. Beginning by describing her life in Guatemala, Cruz shares how a foiled murder attempt, along with the death of her husband and threats on her oldest son's life, prompted Cruz and her two sons to seek asylum in the United States. Cruz narrates her journey, including being separated from her sons due to the Trump administration's policies and spending months in a detention center. In the second part of the book, the narration awkwardly shifts to Collazo, who recounts her motivations for starting Immigrant Families Together, which raises bond money for detained migrant mothers and helps reunite them with their children. After Collazo reunites Cruz with her sons, she helps the family adjust to life in the United States. In the final section, Cruz reflects on the long-term effects of detention and separation on her family, as well as her new life in the United States. The book also includes a recommended reading list and suggestions for activism. VERDICT A heartfelt memoir of survival and the power of activism that is recommended for readers interested in personal narratives of migration.—Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Library Journal

★ 2020-02-05
The true story of a Guatemalan woman’s journey to the U.S. and what happened to her and two of her children when she crossed the border.

As is the case for most immigrants, Pablo Cruz’s decision to leave Guatemala and travel more than 2,000 miles to the U.S. was difficult. Yet her husband had been murdered, she’d been shot, and there were threats being made on her oldest son’s life. Consequently, what choice did she have but to flee even though it meant leaving her two daughters and her clothing store behind? Suffering significant deprivations during their treacherous journey, they arrived exhausted and dehydrated at the U.S. border. Because of the American government’s new zero-tolerance policy, the author was immediately separated from her children and locked up in Eloy Detention Center, where she endured “inadequate and often spoiled food…thin mattresses and tightly rationed toiletries…water that seem[ed] to be laden with chemicals,” as well as “the unfathomable cruelty of some of the guards.” For more than 80 days, Pablo Cruz lived in fear, with her strong faith helping her through some of the darker moments. Help arrived via the Immigrant Families Together program, a highly effective group of angry mothers coordinated by Collazo, which helped secure Pablo Cruz’s release and aided her reunion with her sons. In this gripping narrative, the authors tell their respective sides of this intertwined story. Pablo Cruz details the emotional and physical distress she suffered before leaving her native country and throughout the ensuing months, when she constantly questioned her decision to flee to America. Collazo clearly describes the incredible outpouring of support she discovered for these asylum seekers. The tale is haunting and eloquent, giving voice to a sector of society that requires serious aid rather than the discrimination and racial prejudice they too often face.

An emotionally intense narrative of a Guatemalan woman’s desperate search for a better life.

Kirkus Reviews

[I]nspiring and hopeful, The Book of Rosy offers an intimately detailed and personal account of two mothers’ determination and strength…A powerful, emotional perspective that demonstrates how one family’s immigrant experience can transcend inflicted pain and trauma in order to become an example of abundant generosity and love.” 

Shelf Awareness

This memoir is a handbook for everyday activism.” 

Shondaland

Offers an unflinching look at conditions in U.S. detention centers and a sobering reminder of the power of policy to change lives”

Booklist

A must read. Gripping, beautiful, heartbreaking and life-affirming. This intimate tale of one woman's journey across the border shines a light on the circumstances that have led thousands of women to risk all in order to give their children a safer, better life. It's a testament to the compassion of strangers and that in these troubled times, storytelling still has the power to increase our empathy and understanding. Reading this book will change you for the better.

J. Courtney Sullivan

“A deeply moving and very important book that tells the human story behind the tragedy of Central Americans seeking asylum in the US. This testament to the power of family, faith and community in the face of inhumane policies is gripping and eloquently and powerfully written. It ought to be read by everyone who claims to be an American. It ought to be read by everyone who is a citizen of the world.

John Perkins

I am forever astonished by Rosayra, for her unbelievable strength to share this story with us, while still healing from its traumas and fighting for asylum. The Book of Rosy is a brave recording of one of America's most shameful moments.

Christopher Soto

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