The Distance Between Us cover art

The Distance Between Us

A Memoir

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The Distance Between Us

By: Reyna Grande
Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
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About this listen

 In this inspirational and unflinchingly honest memoir, acclaimed author Reyna Grande describes her childhood torn between the United States and Mexico, and shines a light on the experiences, fears, and hopes of those who choose to make the harrowing journey across the border.

Reyna Grande vividly brings to life her tumultuous early years in this “compelling...unvarnished, resonant” (BookPage) story of a childhood spent torn between two parents and two countries. As her parents make the dangerous trek across the Mexican border to “El Otro Lado” (The Other Side) in pursuit of the American dream, Reyna and her siblings are forced into the already overburdened household of their stern grandmother. When their mother at last returns, Reyna prepares for her own journey to “El Otro Lado” to live with the man who has haunted her imagination for years, her long-absent father.

Funny, heartbreaking, and lyrical, The Distance Between Us poignantly captures the confusion and contradictions of childhood, reminding us that the joys and sorrows we experience are imprinted on the heart forever, calling out to us of those places we first called home.

Also available in Spanish as La distancia entre nosotros. Art & Literature Authors Law Professionals & Academics Memoir Mexico Latin American Funny Heartfelt
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Deep insight into the emotional strain of people fleeing from poverty. Simultaneously draining and heartwarming

Powerful insights into migrant life

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I give my kids lots of lifts. I also do a fair deal of mundane household tasks. But no longer are these a chore since I brought Audible into my life. Now, I can listen to books, my first love, as well as read them. Recently I have listened to 2 books on a similar theme and coincidentally narrated by the same incredible woman, The first, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is a fictionalised story of an escape from the Mexican Cartel, a mother and son taking the migrant route by jumping on moving freight trains. Alarmingly, this is a normal route for many. Its a fantastic book, lauded and celebrated by HRH Oprah and I was hooked from start to finish. But when I studied the reviews afterwards, the main criticism centred around the fact that an American author had received a tremendous advance to write the book. Why wasn't an authentic voice, a Mexican author, given the same opportunity? A list of worthy Mexican authors was suggested. I felt I needed to balance things out and therefore my next book/listen was a this memoir by the Mexican author Reyna Grande. This is the book I would recommend everyone I know. We know the tragedy of the refugee situation but do we really understand deeply the emotional human cost, the families who out of poverty are forced to separate? I think its one of those books that falls into the 'everyone should read' category. It moved me to tears and opened my heart in new ways.

Everyone should listen to this book

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