Collected Quotes: In The Country We Love (My Family Divided)

Best Of

Truth is, among low-wage earners busting their tails to make the rent, one’s feelings are seldom discussed or acknowledged. Emotional wellness is a First World luxury.
“Chapter 3: Underground.” In The Country We Love (My Family Divided) – Page 37

In immigrant communities all over the globe, celebrating is part of the culture. It’s a survival mechanism. When your relatives are thousands of miles away, you make up for it by connecting with others who speak your language. Eat your food. Love your music. Understand your traditions. Out neighbors weren’t only our neighbors; they were our extended family.
“Chapter 1.” In The Country We Love (My Family Divided) – Page 14

A wave of comfort washed over me. My friend hasn’t urged me to be strong. She hadn’t told me to stand tall or soldier on. She hadn’t uttered the shallow reassurance that’s I’d get through this. Rather she’d given me permission, right before sleep, to be the frightened little girl that I was.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 89

One day. Some other time. But as the seasons rolled on and my fear hadn’t come true, I’d been lulled into thinking it wouldn’t happen. Life does that to us. Deep down, we know what may come to pass, but we hope that what we dread can be permanently put off. We convince ourselves it may never occur, because if it were going to, it would’ve already. Then, without warning, reality socks us in the face and we realize how foolish it was to believe we’d been spared. And however many years we spent agonizing what tragedy may come, the sting is no less severe when it does.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 92

Complete Collection

One day. Some other time. But as the seasons rolled on and my fear hadn’t come true, I’d been lulled into thinking it wouldn’t happen. Life does that to us. Deep down, we know what may come to pass, but we hope that what we dread can be permanently put off. We convince ourselves it may never occur, because if it were going to, it would’ve already. Then, without warning, reality socks us in the face and we realize how foolish it was to believe we’d been spared. And however many years we spent agonizing what tragedy may come, the sting is no less severe when it does.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 92

A wave of comfort washed over me. My friend hasn’t urged me to be strong. She hadn’t told me to stand tall or soldier on. She hadn’t uttered the shallow reassurance that’s I’d get through this. Rather she’d given me permission, right before sleep, to be the frightened little girl that I was.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 89

When you’re back at the starting line of a race you have no reason to think you’ll complete, there isn’t much to talk about.
“In The County We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 70

In some ways, the heartache we feel for our loved ones is deeper, rawer, than any we could feel for ourselves.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 69

When you’re undocumented in the United States, you don’t get a pass under the heading of ‘youthful indiscreation.’
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 66

Truth is, among low-wage earners busting their tails to make the rent, one’s feelings are seldom discussed or acknowledged. Emotional wellness is a First World luxury.
“Chapter 3: Underground.” In The Country We Love (My Family Divided) – Page 37

In immigrant communities all over the globe, celebrating is part of the culture. It’s a survival mechanism. When your relatives are thousands of miles away, you make up for it by connecting with others who speak your language. Eat your food. Love your music. Understand your traditions. Out neighbors weren’t only our neighbors; they were our extended family.
“Chapter 1.” In The Country We Love (My Family Divided) – Page 14