Our Stories Carried Us Here - by Tea Rozman & Julie Vang (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"Eleven storytellers chronicle their journeys from places all over the world--including Guatemala, Chad, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan--to the United States.

Each story compellingly details a variety of experiences the individual immigrant or refugee had, highlighting differences between stories that too often are lumped together or not given an opportunity to be heard. Each storyteller was paired with an illustrator from a similar linguistic and cultural heritage. The thoughtfulness of the matches shines through, as every panel authentically conveys the narrators' poignant and emotional memories, highlighting the beauty of their homelands and the cultures they still identify with. The narratives show the struggles and triumphs of acclimating to a new language, culture, and worldview as well as dealing with obstacles like racism and microaggressions...

Will strongly evoke both thought-provoking insights and empathy."--KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW

Green Card Voices presents a bold and unconventional collection of first-person stories told and illustrated by immigrants and refugees living across the United States. Stanford scientist, deaf student, indigenous activist, Black entrepreneur--all immigrants and refugees--recount journeys from their home countries in ten vibrantly illustrated stories. Faced by unfamiliar vistas, they are welcomed with possibilities, and confronted by challenges and prejudice. Timely, sobering, and insightful, Our Stories Carried Us Here acts as a mirror and a light to connect us all with immigrant and refugee experiences.

Review Quotes

"Eleven storytellers chronicle their journeys from places all over the world--including Guatemala, Chad, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan--to the United States.

Each story compellingly details a variety of experiences the individual immigrant or refugee had, highlighting differences between stories that too often are lumped together or not given an opportunity to be heard. Each storyteller was paired with an illustrator from a similar linguistic and cultural heritage. The thoughtfulness of the matches shines through, as every panel authentically conveys the narrators' poignant and emotional memories, highlighting the beauty of their homelands and the cultures they still identify with. The narratives show the struggles and triumphs of acclimating to a new language, culture, and worldview as well as dealing with obstacles like racism and microaggressions. Readers meet remarkable people like Zaynab Abdi from Yemen, whose story is illustrated by Egyptian American artist Ashraf El-Attar in stark black and white. Her harrowing journey was filled with sorrow and trauma yet, when she finally settled in Minnesota, she found purpose and opportunity through hard work and activism, speaking at the United Nations about girls' education in Yemen. Each profile opens with brief biographies and photos or drawings of the storytellers and artists along with website URLs for learning more about them. Glossaries following many of the stories define potentially unfamiliar terms. The vibrant diversity of artistic styles offers pleasing variety within the unifying thematic framework of the volume.

Will strongly evoke both thought-provoking insights and empathy."--KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW

"Our Stories Carried Us Here is a powerful collaboration between storytellers and illustrators from around the country, speaking to the forces that uproot us and send us to each other. The collection is a testament to the power of language as vessels for carrying our memories, to the power of images in holding fast the boundaries of who we were and who we will be."--Kao Kalia Yang, Author of Somewhere in the Unknown World

"An important collection of beautiful work that effectively communicates the genuine and diverse experiences of long overdue voices."--Louis Leung, Novelist

"Our Stories Carried Us Here, is an incredible collaboration of authors and illustrators that illuminates the experience of otherness felt by immigrants and refugees. This graphic novel is a powerful affirmation of the way stories foster empathy and connection, and provides a greater sense of how to understand and welcome our new neighbors."--Molly Hill, Editor of Blue Marble Review: A Literary Journal for Young Writers

"Our Stories Carried Us Here is an infinitely powerful collection of immigrant voices unlike anything we've seen. One cannot comprehend the bravery, trauma, sadness, and triumph of emigrating from one country to another as a young person, yet this anthology captures both the unimaginable journey and the humanity of young immigrants. From the storytellers to the artists, the reader is immersed in a page-turning narrative that gives you chills and arrests your notions of what it means to leave one country behind in pursuit of a different one. Our Stories Carried Us Here is remarkable and is destined to become a beloved classic that belongs in every classroom, library, and bookshelf."--Dara Beevas, Publisher, and Author of Amina of Zaria: The Warrior Queen

"Our Stories Carried Us Here is a stunning example of the power of comics to uplift the stories that most need telling. In a precarious moment for refugees and immigrants across the world, Green Card Voices has curated an incredible anthology, filled with experiences both told and illustrated by people whose creative work is rarely centered, and whose voices we will all be better for listening to."--Oriana Leckert, Director of Publishing & Comics Outreach at Kickstarter

"Our Stories Carried Us Here is a collection of compelling and emotional journeys that reminds us of why the greatest destination humanity can strive for is a world where each of us can safely make our home, and belong. This book, and the storytellers it features, offer a profound gift - the ability to step into the many worlds they bring to life, and to step out with the insights needed to better meet the challenges of the communities, schools, workplaces, and democracy we shape together, not as strangers, but as neighbors."--Rachel Peric, Executive Director, Welcoming America

"Once again, Green Card Voices has produced a piece of historical art through storytelling. I found myself empathizing, crying, laughing while reading and graphically interpreting a glimpse into the immigrant experience of so many. The experiences are so unique yet reminding me that we need to constantly be sharing these stories. The series is an archive of our lived experiences and part of the racial justice movement."--Nausheena Hussain, Executive Director of Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment (RISE)

"This book is a beautiful, accessible, and heart-expanding invitation for us to learn the stories of some of our neighbors. I hope that many will accept this invitation, and channel the understanding and care that is sure to follow into becoming better listeners, community members and neighbors who welcome and support one another."--Alyssa Tsagong, Director of Education, PBS Wisconsin

"Our Stories Carried Us Here: A Graphic Novel Anthology is a beautiful representation of how powerful the intersection of art and storytelling can be. It offers a critically humanizing perspective that the reader can't help but love, rally around and stand up for the storytellers, and encourages the reader to take action in real life. To me, that's what this book is all about."--Christine Her, Executive Director of ArtForce Iowa