Knowing personal stories like this makes the immigration issue in America so much clearer and real to me. I would encourage everyone to read this, even if you think the issue doesn't affect you personally.

Separated by the Border
A Birth Mother, a Foster Mother, and a Migrant Child’s 3,000-Mile Journey

by Gena Thomas
InterVarsity Press
IVP Books

Christian , Religion & Spirituality
Pub Date 29 Oct 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Separated by the Border through Intervarsity Press and Netgalley:

In 2017 five year old Guadalupe traveled from Honduras to America with her Mother. The harrowing journey took her from Mexico in the cargo section of a tractor trailer. She was then separated from her Mother. she had been held hostage by Smugglers who exploited her Mother physically and financially. At the U.S Border Julia came through the processing center as an unaccompanied minor after being separated from her stepdad who had been deported. Gena Thomas tells the story of how Julia came to the United States, what she experienced in the system, and what it took to reunite her with her family.

Gena A Spanish-speaking former missionary, became Julia’s foster mother and witnessed the ways migrant children experience trauma firsthand. Piecing together the stories of birth mother and foster mother, this book shows the human face of the immigrant and refugee, the challenges of the immigration and foster care systems, and the tenacious power of motherly love.

I found the arguments, and the facts to back up those arguments to be well argued and well researched and therefore I find this book to be worthy of five out of five stars.

Happy Reading!

Heartfelt!

A book for our times that pulls no punches when describing the tragedies that lie in the past with respect to the Refugee question and in the present for those wanting to lead a better life. All on hold at the border!
But it's the children and their families who are suffering. Thomas' book calls us to "walk a mile" in their shoes and ask the hard questions.
Driven by need and fear, this is the personal story of some whose bright hopes became dark dreams.
Hard to read, hard to come to terms with and harder to cross to the other side of the road. Definitely a call for us all to exercise our Good Samaritan ethic, to not walk on by.

An InterVarsity Press ARC via NetGalley

Separated by the Border by Gena Thomas is a raw and transparent, personal experience plucked right out of the headlines. Thomas shares her personal experience fostering a child from Honduras who was separated from her family at the border. However, Separated by the Border also includes the back story of the child's mother, why she decided to attempt to immigrate, and what happened to cause the separation.

Thomas does not shy away from telling the story about not only the situation in Honduras but also the harrowing experiences both the child and the mother experienced. As such that are parts of the book that are difficult to read and are definitely not sunshine and roses. Most enlightening is her explanation of the cultural and legal differences between the two countries that played into the child being separated from her step father. Thomas also is transparent about her own journey, both spiritually and living abroad, and the struggles she has faced as a foster parent.

Separated by the Border is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the current immigration crisis. Regardless of your political viewpoint, reading this book will help you to better understand the desperate situations that lead to immigration attempts. Anyone who is a foster or adoptive parent or is interested in these issues, particularly internationally or cross-culturally, will wish to read the book as well. Book clubs will find this a wonderful book to read and discuss.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Separated by the Border from InterVarsity Press via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

This is a narrative about the lives of two families one from Honduras and the other the United States. It looks at the costs of one immigrant women, her daughter and her family she made the decision to come to the United States with her daughter, and make the dangerous trip out of desperation. It is not a pretty story, but it is a story of redemption for both families. In many ways it is a story that reflects many of the experiences immigrants face in the decision to migrate to a safer place in spite of the dangers.

The beauty of this book is that it is written in light of the experiences of those directly involved. It reflects the struggle, suffering, pain and hearbrake of parenting/foster parenting. Gena does not present herself in a savior like role, but rather as a human being facing the challenges of caring for immagrant children separated from their parents. Her story shows the deep connection between orthodoxy and orthopraxis. It is a story of faith lived in the messiness and tragedy of human life.

It is a story that is lamentful in how immigrants are treated. Gena writes:

"Lament might look like cuss words that are wrong and shameful, because human suffering is wrong and shameful. Lament might look like a constant flow of tears, an inability to get out of bed, an angry rant, an emotional prayer . . ."

I highly recommend this book as it is "The call to Christians is to work for and usher in shalom here and now while simultaneously esperando (waiting for or hoping for) the renewal of all things when the upside-down kin-dom comes for good."

Gena Thomas writes,"The church tells women to tell the pretty stories, because when you tell us the ugly stories, you make us feel uncomfortable." Thank you Gena for making me feel uncomfortable!