Online Author Talk With Reyna Grande: The Hidden Cost of the American Dream

Register at www.dbrl.org/online-author-series and submit questions for the author.
In her ambitious new memoir, "Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget," beloved author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival.
What is the true power of stories? Can they heal the jagged edges of a traumatic childhood? Is the cost of telling the story worth the price of the cure?
With her signature blend of sophistication and raw honesty, Grande interrogates how living between two nations, two languages and two identities has shaped the woman, mother and writer she has become. Moving from the legacy of violence in her hometown of Iguala, Mexico, to a bittersweet family vacation in Europe spent reconciling her own impoverished past with her children’s world of abundance, she uncovers startling truths about the nature of survival.
Whether being racially profiled in the Arizona borderlands or finding unexpected wisdom from the slugs in her garden, Grande unflinchingly asks: How do we bridge the gap between who we were and who we have become? How do we turn pain into power? When memory threatens to define us, how can we use story to heal while still honoring our boundaries?
Register today for this virtual talk if you identify as a seeker, a dreamer or “anyone who believes in the enduring, transformative power of finding one’s voice.”
Adults. Register at www.dbrl.org/online-author-series to receive a link for viewing this online event.
About the Author: Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US-Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in "The Distance Between Us," a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels "A Ballad of Love and Glory," "Across a Hundred Mountains" and "Dancing with Butterflies"; the memoirs "Migrant Heart," "The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition" and "A Dream Called Home"; and the anthology "Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings." She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com/ for more information.
This event is part of DBRL's Online Author Series, supported by David Lile honorarium funds. A recording will also be available for later viewing on the author series site.