Citizenship - by Daisy Hernández (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A provocative, personal, blazingly intelligent examination of one of the most vexing questions facing the United States today--who is, and should be, a citizen?

"How did 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free' turn upside down to where we are today? Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. Brilliant!"--Sandra Cisneros

"The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I've ever read. A must-read!"--Javier Zamora

In this one-of-a-kind book, Daisy Hernández fiercely interrogates one of the most complicated subjects of contemporary life and politics: citizenship. Braiding memoir, history, and cultural criticism, she exposes the truths and lies of how we define ourselves as a country and a people. Turning to her own family's stories--her mother arrived from Colombia, her father a political refugee from Castro's Cuba--Hernández shows how the very idea of citizenship is a myth and part of the stories we tell ourselves about the American soul and psyche.

Reframing our understanding of what it means to be an American, Citizenship is an urgent and necessary account of the laws, customs, and language we use to include and exclude, especially those who come from Latin America. With her scholar's mind and memoirist's gift for narrative, Hernández weaves a story both personal and national, while reckoning with our country's ongoing debate about who belongs and providing fresh ways of thinking about citizenship. At once bracing, fearless, and tender, Citizenship is a powerful portrait of one family's experiences in the borderlands of citizenship and an honest illumination of the country in which we live.

Review Quotes

"The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I've ever read. Daisy Hernández marvelously blends her family's story with the story of citizenship itself. In her pen, everything is illuminated to a point in which we can understand our present moment better. This book is a must-read!"--Javier Zamora, New York Times bestselling author of Solito

"How did 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free' turn upside down to where we are today? With integrity and intelligence, Citizenship documents this story. Daisy Hernández has clearly done her homework. Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. . . . Brilliant!"--Sandra Cisneros

"Hernández, already widely recognized as an expert at integrating sophisticated reporting and personal memoir, here brings her lucky audience a perfect volume for our extreme times. Her wide-ranging perspective on America's most intimate moral crisis, combined with a highly readable style, both reflects the lived experience of immigration and makes it accessible for all readers. This is a relevant and moving book, to be read in community and widely discussed in book clubs, in classrooms, in libraries, and on subways. . . . A gift."--Sarah Schulman, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity

"As we reel in social and political chaos, with the noise around words like 'immigrant, ' 'birthright, ' and 'citizen' especially confounding, it's reassuring to have an astute and composed writer like Daisy Hernández to guide us back to reason. Citizenship offers a remarkable narrative that blends family chronicle with a historical account of America's cruel policies, revealing that despite persistent adversity we continue to strengthen our communities."--Rigoberto González, award-winning poet and professor

"I have deeply admired Daisy Hernández's previous work, and Citizenship has cemented my status as her ultimate fan. Her singular voice and profound insights feel more essential than ever. This is a book that demands to be read by everyone."--Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us

About the Author

Daisy Hernández is the author of The Kissing Bug, winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the inaugural title for the National Book Foundation's Science + Literature Program. Her memoir A Cup of Water Under My Bed won Lambda Literary's Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award and was a Publishing Triangle Award finalist. She co-edited the classic feminist anthology Colonize This! and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Northwestern University.