This true story recounts the life of the author, an immigrant from India who fights to keep her father from being deported, thanks to various missteps in the US judicial process. Along the way she becomes an immigrant rights advocate, a side job to her career as a business tech journalist. The story is heart-wrenching, showing just how convoluted our immigration system has become and how it has turned on the very people that were once the backbone of our country. Those that want to "send them back" should read this book and see first hand the destructive path that we have set ourselves on in this century. I highly recommend this book.

This is an interesting memoir about the author and her family and their journey of being undocumented immigrants. The author is now a journalist. she documents her experiences, which show the flaws in the immigration system, and well and the judicial system. Shahani delves into the question of who really belongs in America, which is a poignant question in today's society. This is a well-written and thought-provoking book.

An Indian family finds it way eventually to America.  They start to build a better life following the American dream getting green cards and working to citizenship. Through a serious of misadventure and  poor legal advice the father gets on the wrong side of immigration and lives in a perpetual state of fear of deportation. His daughter  (a NYTimes journalist) details the trials and tribulations of the many years  and what they went through. Its also a story being played out throughout  America still.  Very human story that will bring the people involved to the fore.

A timely and painfully honest journey of one woman's pilgrimage with her family to the bowels of Queens, New York. Her family could be traced back to the partition in Karachi, then to Mumbai, Morocco and finally the USA, all to capture the American dream. However, the immigrant dream was far from the idealized vision they had in mind. As Aarti transitions through the years, her parents do everything they can to fit into American society but are subjected to the bias and prejudices held by the American public. Through hard work, Aarti gets scholarships to top notch private schools and colleges while trying to help her parents along the way. When her father falls on hard times, she devotes a good majority of her time trying to help him out of very difficult circumstances. She becomes an NPR reporter, exploring the plight of immigrants such as her own family. I didn't give it 5 stars because I felt she jumped around some times where I thought she should have not ended so abruptly. I also wished she had explored more of her teenage years at the Brearley School where the possible difficulties of economic disparities between students were glossed over. However, these are minor quibbles and given our current climate it is an easy important read.

This book is so important--Shahani is a compelling writer and is able to capture the ages and voices at which she was as she writes about being the daughter of ethnic Indian immigrants from Morocco. At this point, she's very educated and aware, but as I read, I experienced the confusion that the family experienced as they tried and failed to navigate the legal and immigration systems. Despite their inherent intelligence and drive, they fall prey to our legal system and suffer greatly and unnecessarily. Unfortunately, with the current anti-immigrant xenophobic policies and sentiments, which Shahani documents are not new--I was unaware of the 1996 laws and had forgotten that ICE was only formed after 2001--the struggles of a first generation immigrant family become almost insurmountable. Only through her advocacy, and she chronicles poignantly how that advocacy cost her in personal way, was the family able to overcome some of those obstacles. The relationship between Shahani and her father is especially poignant. Well written, thoughtful and thought provoking.

Heartbreaking. A story that needs told. This is really an important book right now.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Here We Are is a compelling memoir about the author's family and the plight of undocumented immigrants. Shahani, a journalist, does a wonderful job exploring her relationships with her family and and how they change as she matures.

A Heartfelt memoir of a young girls life long fight against judicial injustice.

After her father made the mistake of selling merchandise to the wrong people, Aarti finds herself saying goodbye to her father as he starts his sentence on Rikers Island.

Using personal experience Aarti exposes the deep flaws in the immigration and judicial system, sharing the struggle in this beautifully written book.

I loved this book so much and it made me very emotional because I am immigrant myself. I came to this country when I was 24 years old. My parents struggled the same way that Aarti parents did. But because of this whole experience we became stronger people and sky is the limit :). Very well written memoir by Aarti Namdev Shahani, I could feel the strong connection between Aarti and her father, and other members of the family. Author also talks about how justice system is broken and corrupt specially when dealing with immigrants.