My Side of the River: A Memoir by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez shares her heartbreaking testimony of what life was like when her parents were deported back to Mexico and she stayed behind to finish high school. She was born in the United States and therefore has all the rights of a citizen, but she experiences the instability of life with parents who do not. Before their deportation, she bore witness to the ways they struggled and were taken advantage of here in the States.

When they returned to Mexico to renew their Visas and could not, she and her brother were left behind. She had fantastic grades and a dream of a better life for her family - and she shares with us her journey to achieve that dream.

Reading Elizabeth's story, the most striking element was the vast contrast between the kindness and coldness she has experienced. Within paragraphs, she experiences chronic, gnawing hunger of neglect from her foster family to speaking at a convention about her story to wild applause. The highs and lows of life are extreme, but she writes about both with poignancy and moderation. Later in the story she expresses her cognitive distortion about expecting tragedy whenever things are "too good." This reflects in the way she writes about the complications of extremes, to a beautiful yinyang effect. 

I don't usually use a rating system when I talk about books on this blog, but this one deserves six out of five for courage and artistry alike.

My Side of the River is available on Amazon, Libby, and Viewpoint Books.