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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….


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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


I wasn’t simply reading, I was also carving out a belief system. An identity.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 133.

[…] when you spiral into desolation, you’re no longer rational. In fact, you already feel dead; the suicide act is a mere formality.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 154

 Our passions don’t just compel us; they can also heal us.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 171

Always remember that you’re in charge of your own story. […] You get to decide what you want to share. Don’t let others push you into talking about anything you’re uncomfortable with.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 230

 There’s no point in going through anything difficult if, on the other side of it, very little shifts.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 247

Complete Collection

There’s no point in going through anything difficult if, on the other side of it, very little shifts.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 247

Always remember that you’re in charge of your own story. […] You get to decide what you want to share. Don’t let others push you into talking about anything you’re uncomfortable with.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 230

 When you put something out there it’s not about deciding whether it’s good or bad. It’s about creating it, and then letting it go with the hope that others take some light or inspiration from it.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” – Page 180

 Our passions don’t just compel us; they can also heal us.
“In The Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 171

 A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.

“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 157 (Originally by Jean De La Fontaine)


 We don’t do all our growing up between adolescence or even our twenties. If we’re fortunate, we never stop.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 136

 I wasn’t simply reading, I was also carving out a belief system. An identity.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 133

Others had been through far more than I had, and they’d channel their pain into their art. From devastation, they’d created something beautiful. I wanted to one day do the same.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 123

 Following any loss, there comes a moment when you shift from mourning; if you continued to linger in the grief, you couldn’t function. So a little at a time, you create a so-called new normal, although there’s nothing normal about it. With a gaping hole in your life, you move on. And it’s impossible to do that if you keep peeking over your shoulder. I needed to look ahead.
“In the Country We Love: My Family Divided.” Page 106

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


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