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This month, Modern Latina is reading Migrant Heart, the powerful new memoir-in-essays from the bestselling author of The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home.

About Migrant Heart by Reyna Grande

Many of us first met Reyna through The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, memoirs that gave voice to stories so many of our families have lived but rarely seen on the page. In Migrant Heart, she turns inward once again in a memoir-in-essays about what happens after survival: the scars migration leaves behind, and the lifelong work of healing.

Reyna writes about living between two countries, two languages, and two identities, and how that shaped the woman, mother, and writer she is today. She takes us from the legacy of violence in her hometown of Iguala, Mexico, to a bittersweet family trip through Europe where her own childhood of scarcity collides with her children’s world of abundance. Along the way she writes about being racially profiled in the Arizona borderlands, and even finds unexpected wisdom in the slugs in her garden.

At the heart of the book are questions so many of us carry:

• How do we bridge the gap between who we were and who we’ve become?
• How do we turn pain into power?
• How can we use our stories to heal while still honoring our boundaries?

For every Latina who has ever felt caught ni de aquí, ni de allá, for the daughters of immigrants, for the seekers and the dreamers, this one is for you.

Questions to Reflect On as You Read

• Which essay in Migrant Heart felt closest to your own family’s story?
• How has living between two languages or cultures shaped who you are?
• What does healing look like for you, and what parts of your story do you choose to keep private?
• What would you like to ask Reyna Grande during our Zoom visit?

Special Author Meet & Greet

Here’s the best part: we’ll close out our month of reading with a special visit from Reyna Grande on our Modern Latina Zoom call! Come with your questions, your favorite passages, and your own stories.

How to Join the Modern Latina Book Club

Joining is easy: grab your copy of Migrant Heart, read along with us. Join the Modern Latina Book Club.