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Dear America

Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

Audiobook
1 of 2 copies available
1 of 2 copies available

Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, called "the most famous undocumented immigrant in America," tackles one of the defining issues of our time in this explosive and deeply personal call to arms.

"This is not a book about the politics of immigration. This book––at it's core––is not about immigration at all. This book is about homelessness, not in a traditional sense, but in the unsettled, unmoored psychological state that undocumented immigrants like myself find ourselves in. This book is about lying and being forced to lie to get by; about passing as an American and as a contributing citizen; about families, keeping them together, and having to make new ones when you can't. This book is about constantly hiding from the government and, in the process, hiding from ourselves. This book is about what it means to not have a home.

After 25 years of living illegally in a country that does not consider me one of its own, this book is the closest thing I have to freedom."

—Jose Antonio Vargas, from Dear America

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas may be the best-known undocumented immigrant in the United States after outing himself in the NEW YORK TIMES in 2011. Vargas's performance of his memoir is sincere, intelligent, and thoughtful. After arriving from the Philippines at age 12, he lived with his grandparents, who were naturalized citizens. When he learns, at 16, that his Green Card is fake, his shame and fear are palpable. His story focuses on lying, passing, and hiding, experiences common to all undocumented immigrants. In spite of his undocumented status, Vargas manages to go to college and become a journalist, but the inner conflict of living a lie paired with a journalist's pursuit of truth becomes overwhelming. Vargas exhibits passion and composure even as critics exhort him to "get in line" to become a citizen--though no such path exists from his current status. A.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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