Nicole Chung

Mensah Demary

In the first published anthology of writing from Catapult magazine, twenty writers share stories of migration, family, the search for home and belonging, and what it means to exist between languages and cultures

Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Search for Belonging

A Map Is Only One Story

altlovesbooks

This was kind of a mixed bag of essays about the immigration experience, told by people who have lived it. On one hand, I thought the writing style was pretty great throughout (I see others disagree here, which is fine) and the emotion in most of these stories is pretty plain to see. Lots of feelings of longing, loss, identity, several stories were heart achingly sad and others thought provoking. "The Wailing" by Nadia Owusu stuck with me because of the juxtaposition of professional funeral wailers from the United Nations African Wives Association wailing for three days in modern Rome, and the disassociation the author feels between them and what she remembers of her father. "Mourning My Birthplace" by Natalia Sylvester was also memorable, where a woman who migrated from Peru said goodbye to a beloved grandfather once then and then again later. 

There's a lot to like here, even for people like me who don't have that personal connection with the immigration issue. The essays are extremely diverse, written predominately by female writers, and really is a good read for anyone interested in a different point of view.

A Map Is Only One Story Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Search for Belonging

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