As religion publishers increasingly take on social issues, new books are shedding light on the immigrant experience, including the suffering of those who have been impacted by the Trump administration’s immigration policies. This year’s titles include firsthand accounts of obstacles asylum seekers face, as well as how the church can lend a helping hand.
“To our detriment,” notes HarperOne executive editor Shannon Welch, “we think about immigration as a political issue, a social issue. But it’s a human issue.”
In June, the publisher is releasing The Book of Rosy: A Mother’s Story of Separation at the Border, which tells of how Rosayra Pablo Cruz, a Guatemalan woman who sought safety in the U.S. with two of her children, was detained by the U.S. government at the Southern border. “Rosy, who sought asylum from unimaginable violence in Guatemala, was separated from her children,” Welch says. “The Book of Rosydescribes her darkest hours in detention, wondering if she will ever see her children again. She chronicles losing hope and ultimately reconnecting with it, finding that it was her faith that ultimately gave her the peace and the strength and the life force to survive.”
The Book of Rosy is written with Schwietert Collazo, the American founder of Immigrant Families Together, who helped reunite the Cruz family. HarperCollins Español will publish the book simultaneously in Spanish.
Brazos Press is releasing Finding Jesus at the Border: Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors (Apr.) by pastor and New Testament scholar Julia Lambert Fogg. The book aims to put a human face on the immigration debate while also calling on Christians to reconsider their neighbors’ hardships, and it blends biblical narratives about border crossings with stories from immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
By amplifying the voices of people who have been marginalized, Katelyn Beaty, acquisitions editor at Brazos, hopes that “the American church can become more compassionate in issues where human dignity is at stake.” She adds, “One of the greatest things a book can do is give voice to the voiceless.”
In March, W will publish My Name Is Tani... and I Believe in Miracles: The Amazing True Story of One Boy’s Journey from Refugee to Chess Champion by Tani Adewumi, who at six years old became a refugee from Nigeria fleeing Boko Haram persecution. Adewumi arrived with his family in New York City in 2017 and lived in a homeless shelter while his parents worked. While in public school, he joined the chess club and, just one year after learning to play the game, went on to win the 2019 New York State chess championship at age eight.
Damon Reiss, v-p and publisher of W, describes Adewumi’s book as a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. Also, he says, “This story demonstrates the American dream is alive and well. Tani and his family’s story is a timely reminder to work a little harder and be more generous to each other.”
Reading the stories of immigrants can help readers understand the crisis at our borders and encourage them to help. Further, HarperOne’s Welch says, these stories “make clear that in our most difficult hours as humans, we call upon faith to sustain us.”
