Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings
Edited by Reyna Grande and Sonia Guiñansaca
Introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen
A unique collection of groundbreaking essays, poems, and artwork by forty-one migrants, refugees, and Dreamers—including award-winning writers, artists, and activists—that illuminate what it is like living undocumented today.
In the overheated debate about immigration, we often lose sight of the humanity at the heart of this complex issue. The immigrants and refugees living precariously in the United States are mothers and fathers, children, neighbors, and friends. Individuals propelled by hope and fear, they gamble their lives on the 
promise of America, yet their voices are rarely heard.
This anthology of essays, poetry, and art seeks to shift the immigration debate—now shaped by rancorous stereotypes and xenophobia—towards one rooted in humanity and justice. Through their storytelling and art, the contributors to this thought-provoking book remind us that they are human still. Transcending their current immigration status, they offer nuanced portraits of their existence before and after migration, the factors behind their choices, the pain of leaving their homeland and beginning anew in a strange country, and their collective hunger for a future not defined by borders.
Created entirely by undocumented or formerly undocumented migrants, Somewhere We Are Human is a journey of memory and yearning from people newly arrived in America, those who have been here for decades, and those who have ultimately chosen to leave or were deported. Touching on themes of race, class, gender, nationality, sexuality, politics, and parenthood, Somewhere We Are Human reveals how joy, hope, perseverance, and dreams can take root in the toughest soil and bloom in the harshest conditions.
Praise for Somewhere We Are Human
“This is a book that makes visible those who have been invisible for years to the rest of the world. A wonderful and unprecedented collection [that] allows the reader to conclude, unequivocally, that at the end we’re all human . . . the only difference is just a little piece of paper. Immigration is the new frontier in the struggle for human rights. If you really want to understand what it is to be an immigrant, to be forced to leave your home, and to arrive in a new country, you have to read this book.” —Jorge Ramos, journalist and news anchor with Univision
“This collection is not only a great read, but an important one. I applaud everyone involved.” —Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer-Prize finalist and bestselling author of The Devil’s Highway
“The people who walk through [Somewhere We Are Human] not only survive, but flourish; not only cross borders, but demolish the concept of borders; not only break down stereotypes, but build bridges.” —Martín Espada, National Book Award-winning poet of Floaters
“Urgent, necessary, and bold . . . [Grande and Guiñansaca’s] meticulous selections offer us an extraordinary range of histories, perspectives, and—most touchingly—dreams.” —Rigoberto González, American Book Award-winning author of Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa
“So often these stories are told by others; now we get to hear them told by these artists themselves. What a gift as these vocal cords sing, ringing of human resilience and love, so much love.” —Victoria Chang, Award-winning author of Obit and Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief
“This glorious collection speaks against the power of the state and what the state can’t see: the fullness of people who are so much more than their papers. . . . [Somewhere We Are Human] is what solidarity looks like!” —Ken Chen, Award-winning Poet of Juvenilia
“Somewhere We Are Human incites in me the kind of riot of heart and feeling and thinking that can only happen when many voices are sounding—all at once—part of the history of the world. Vital and radiant . . . you cannot be the same after reading it.” —Aracelis Girmay, Award-winning poet of Teeth, the Black Maria, and Kingdom
“The voices telling these stories and the stories themselves have not always been embraced in publishing, which makes this book such a glorious gift to readers and so necessary and vital for our times.” —Ligiah Villalobos, writer and executive producer of Under the Same Moon (La misma luna)
“Every piece in Somewhere We Are Human is so full of heart and rigor, it makes this collection one of the most important additions to undocumented literature. The poetry, prose, and visual art in its pages forge an incandescent testament of what it means to migrate, survive, and start anew.” —Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of The Man Who Could Move Clouds
