I couldn't get through this title. It ended up not being for me, but I hope it finds a hope with other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It took me longer than expected to finish this book because it is so challenging to read about families separated at the border. The author does an amazing job sharing their story, how it relates to the current day, and how it relates to past immigration stories. I think the most important point is that America is a land of immigration and we should remember that.

My boy will die of sorrow, a heartbreaking story that will open your eyes to the truth of what is happening and has happened in the US during the Trump administration on the southern border with Mexico.

This is a very heartbreaking book, I have read thousands of books about WWII and when I started to read My boy will die of sorrow, I felt like I was reading another story of that time, especially how the US border patrol and CBP started to separate the children from their parents, while arriving to the border, separating families, not telling them any news about them not knowing if they will ever meet or see again, at all times I felt like I was reading a WWII book all over again.

You do have to be immersed in the WWII era to really understand what I'm talking about but this was an atrocity that was permitted and was even seen as something normal in the eyes of the political parties until the last years that everything came to the light and the evilness of the situation started to be seen on the news and yet still nothing has been solved, they keep throwing the blame to one administration and then to another and meanwhile, people and families still are suffering.

This book is about the hard fight migrants have to face while looking for a better chance to live and hope. Yes, this is about dreams, hope, and wanting to give the best to your family only to encounter evilness all over, from the moment they set out seeking their dream, out from South America, til the end of their journey when they face the US Border.

The cartels, the maras, and even the Mexican police all of them put over and over obstacles to stop them from reaching their goal of having a safe place to live where their family can live in peace and their kids grow safe far away from this evilness only to encounter the same at their footsteps.

This is the story not only about one or two families but many more who encounter over and over again the same situation and the same unkind inhumane treatment.

The fact there are still many kids not knowing when they will meet their parents again speaks very loudly about the broken "humanity" in these people. I will never call it a system because we're talking about kids and humans who deserve more than a bunch of people who could care less about anything aside from themselves and the eternal craving of being in power.

This does not reflect the good attitude and education or even advancement of a first-world country, this only reflects how low and ignorant every party and person involved in this situation is.

Hard to read but I think is necessary to sometimes read things that will wake you and open your eyes, to be a better human, a kind person someone who brings and lift the world to a higher frequency.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hachette books for the advanced copy of My Boy Will Die OF Sorrow in exchange for my honest review.

This is an emotional and honest look at the devastating results of the U.S. government's Zero Tolerance program. Separating children as young as two years of age from their parents to deter them from crossing the border illegally was the government's inhumane way of stopping mainly brown-skinned people from entering the U.S. Olivares tells the heartbreaking stories of only a few of the men and women he interviewed to help find their children who sometimes ended up hundreds of miles away.

These people risked their lives to go to the U.S. to better their lives; instead, they were shackled, kept in freezing cells, unable to speak English, and unsure of what was happening to them and their children. Their children, meanwhile, were snatched away from them immediately and placed in other refugee centers. After the audio was taken secretly of the agonizing cries of the children and played for the general public, the outcry was taken seriously, finally ending the government's practice of removing children from their parents. However, some parents ended up deported, never seeing their children again.

Shocking and horrifying, the stories of these people and what they went through will leave
readers emotionally spent.

4.5 stars
This book provides a devastating account of families separated at the U.S./Mexico border, and the authors’ work on their behalf. These accounts are interspersed with the author’s own experience of coming to the U.S. in his youth. Like most people, I was aware of the family separations that occurred, but this book gave me a perspective and understanding that I previously lacked. Thanks to the author for this beautiful book and thanks to NetGalley and Hatchette Books for the ARC.

To begin, I think it’s important to understand why I chose this book. Often I don’t understand things I hear or read about in the news. I cannot comprehend a world where, say, Zero Tolerance, can happen. I cannot imagine the pain the families go through, nor the mental gymnastics necessary for otherwise “good men and women” to condone ripping families apart. This book walked me through all of that.

In my opinion, this book is written in three sections:

The stories of the people he met during his time creating affidavits that would help rectify the separation of them from their children (a distinction he made as he was not their immigration lawyer or their criminal defence lawyer.
Efren’s own immigration story and tidbits about his life both in Mexico and in America as if to highlight the differences between what his family endured and what the parents in McAllen, TX had to deal with.
A history lesson where we learn about all the different laws that went into making Zero Tolerance something that could ever happen- and how similar things have happened in the past.
Because of the different nature of the sections, the writing does not have an even flow and is often, in fact, choppy forcing me to emerge from the story any number of times. I think that was part of the things I found hard about this book. Please understand, I loved it. I have, in fact, bought the audiobook and have been going through it in parts to help me marshall my thoughts and prepare for this review. That said, the fact that the parts where we are in the more human interest sections- the cases and his own childhood- move fast and you are completely immursed. Then you get to the history lesson and it drags on. And on. It’s necessary and was helpful, but it wasn’t the most sintilating thing I have ever read. Add to this the fact that the first two sections seemed to jump timelines (or cases in the case of the court cases) with no reguard for the flow of the story. There were times where his writing was sloppy, and times where he was one of the most elequent writers I have read in years. The last two chapters, for example, were masterful- heartbreaking and intense. If nothing else, this book will make you feel.

Reading about the parents who had come to the country- many of whom turned themselves in to Boarder Patrol in hopes of learning how to go about applying for assylum (for me this is important as asylum seekers can come into the country and begin the paperwork in anyway- it does not have to be at the boarder. I was reading up on it here: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum.) What confused me about Zero Tolerance and how it was implemented was that these people were all being painted as terrible people trying to illegally gain entry into a country instead of possible assylum seekers and refugees hoping to find a safe harbor. Many of these people approached boarder patrol in hopes of recieving assistance and figuring out how to apply for asylum. They were lied to- told that their children were being taken to a different section- that they’d see them tomorrow. One was even told that their child was being taken to be given a bath. They were placed in a court room in chains, with no understanding of what they were doing there- many hoping this was an immigration court- and no information about their children. If we did this to an American family there would be a revolt. Instead, these families were seen as “other”- “illegals” that broke the law. One person even told the author that he “felt for those children”- he wasn’t a monster… but the parents broke the law. That mentality actually confuses me still. If you thought you or your children were in danger, would you wait possible ten years to get through the red tape that is our immigration process, or would you immediately try your luck and beg forgiveness, apply for asylum? How can anyone hear these stories and not imagine that happening to their own children? Is there so little empathy?

MBWDOS helped to to come to terms with these thoughts, and gave me many much needed answers. I am grateful for that. Let’s face it, I am not the smartest person- my husband is most definitely the brains of this operation. Like many, I get confused on what’s going on in current affairs; especially since so many media agencies put their own spin on things and there are websites where we can post literally anything and have it read by thousands. It’s hard to comprehend some things, especially when misinformation is widely spread or it’s a hot topic of discussion. In instances like that, I rely on books to help me understand and emphasize. I have read dozen of immigration stories, books on refugees and the like. None have given me this comprehensive of a view on what the immigrant has to deal with. For that alone I would give this a five star review, but the choppy writing drops it to a four. Honestly, I have pages of notes and have gone over the audiobook thinking I would want to add quotes, but now I don’t know how to go about it. It all seems important.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I would absolutely say that this book is geared toward those 17 and older. Some of these stories talk of pain, death, violence and gang issues. While not going into terrible detail about these things, I still feel like it would be hard content for a young teen to come across.


I was lucky enough to recieve an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Hatchet Books in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

3.5 stars

A well written political reflection from an immigration lawyer with memoiristic elements, clearly intended for a layman audience with no knowledge of legal practice in general or immigration law in particular.

On the whole, I thought that the relation of the author’s legal navigations, conversations with immigrants and asylum seekers, and personal immigration story were well woven-together and presented a compelling perspective on the U.S. immigration system. Some of the personal stories were a tad irrelevant (the author’s memories of learning the alphabet, for example), but were usually worthwhile.

One thing that got a bit annoying was how often Olivares would relate conversations with people who held more critical opinions of immigrants and asylum seekers from south of the border; he continually wrote “I did not tell them X, I did not tell them Y” (X and Y representing compelling data or arguments in favor of Olivares’ position). I continually wanted to ask why, if he felt these were important facts for the reader to know, he didn’t ever see fit to share them during in-person conversations with people he was trying to convince.

I think this book will resonate with anyone who wants to learn more about just who is making up the so-called “border crisis” and what asylum seeking and “illegal immigration” actually entail. It’s not a book meant to persuasively argue about border policy, but it does make a strong humanistic plea for compassion towards those who seek entry into the U.S.

I thought by watching the news in 2018 and being on Twitter that I knew a good bit about the Trump Administration's Zero Tolerance immigration and family separation policy, but I didn't know hardly enough. In My Boy Will Die of Sorrow, Olivares describes what it was like on the front lines, fighting to make sense of a senseless policy, document parent and child separations, and later, reunify families that the government had no intention of ever bringing back together. While it's not necessarily surprising to hear about the cruel and coercive conditions in which government agencies separated children from their parents, it is heartbreaking.

But, more than just an account of 2018 and what it was like to be a civil rights lawyer at the border in McAllen, TX, this book is also part memoir with alternating chapters that chronicle Olivares's personal experiences with immigration to the United States, and provide personal anecdotes on separation from culture and family, assimilation into white society, and belonging (or a lack thereof) in a society that rejects difference.

I found this book to be incredibly moving. It took me about a month to get through, but it feels like something everyone should read at some point in their lives. The cases of specific families Olivares shares helps crystalize his message on human rights and human dignity. I also like the way he considered the history of immigration *and* forced migration to the United States, and discussed the fact that borders are politically man-made. Olivares is vulnerable and unapologetic in his storytelling. This book is both reminder of what not to take for granted and an inspiring call to action.

I think people forget that this isn't "old news". Thank god for people like this author who are putting people first. This was a very interesting and enlightening account of what was really happening during the border crisis. That is STILL going. Loved getting to read real people's stories on top of his own.

Beautifully written, heart wrenching and achingly honest. It got hard to read sometimes. The title is gripping and what intrigued me into reading, then when you understand the context it means so much more. It becomes that much more sad. Olivares’ sensitivity to this subject is so important, not only in discussion his work but his own family. This is really incredible and I think a lot of people will benefit from reading it.