This is how you write a border and immigrant narrative! You take yourself out of the equation and you give space for the people that we must hear to tell their story. I am so in awe of this book and highly recommend it. It shows us how unforgiving the border and the United States can be to people that are simply trying to find a better life and it does so through Aida Hernandez, a phenomenal woman. Please read this especially if you're thinking of reading another book that's not own voices. The author isn't own voices but he doesn't center himself and he's up front about his research, his connection and his purpose with this book.

This true, heartbreaking account engages with excellent storytelling to explore the unique life experience of a young woman struggling to build a life for herself and her child. Aida Hernandez, born in Mexico in 1987, comes of age between worlds, criss-crossing the Arizona/Mexico border because of school, work, and family ties. Characters are real people, although author has disguised some names (including Aida's) for many reasons. Aida collaborated with the author while he was writing the book. Aida's personal story is braided with background details about Mexican history and the legacy of immigration economics and enforcement along the Mexican/American border. Author Bobrow-Strain is a professor of politics at Whitman College who lived and worked along the Arizona/Mexico border for four years. He also researches and describes complexities of immigration law in order to illuminate the context of Aida’s particular experience seeking legal permanent residency in the United States. As of July, 2019, thousands of people still wait in detention for their asylum or deportation cases to be processed. A vital, excellent choice for book groups who want a substantial, in-depth look at one particular family that’s been caught in the vortex of contemporary Mexican/American border politics.

A perfect read in today’s climate Aida a Mexican immigrant looking to survive thrive in America.A look at the real life of immigrant through the good and bad, a daily struggle,#netgalley #fsg

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I struggled with this one. I chose this one because I want to educate myself on life for families living at the border of US and Mexico. The parts I read do ring very true to what I have seen in the news. I do believe it is an important read, but the story was so dense that I had difficulty getting through the chapters. I put it down several times, and just couldn't get back into it. I will still promote this story to my students. I think many will connect.

This initially stood out to me because of the reversal of "life and death" in the title. It's required reading, not just in the age of Trump, but in the age of humanity, or an age where humanity is the same as it's always been, cruel and binary. Aaron Bobrow-Strain has an immense gift for nonfiction prose, and Aida Hernandez is well-served here, if not in life. This is a book I'll be recommending for the rest of my life. Claro que sí, I wish I wouldn't have to.

This is a great story, although heartbreaking. It follows Aida Hernandez, and her fight for a decent life after leaving Mexico for America.

The writing in the book is great, and the story flows well. I couldn't put it down!

Sad, timely, and the sort of book that could help people understand the humans behind the pictures on tv. Aida's life should not have gone the way it does but she's a determined woman. Coming from nothing, she built a life and then had it yanked from under her. She never gives up on her dream. The idea that making it hard will stop people from coming is inane. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. More power to Aida and those like her.

A heartbreaking and important look at immigration. While Aida, a Mexican woman looking for a better life, experienced tragedies and setbacks galore...she maintained hope through it all.

A powerful story of a Mexican immigrant who grew up in the US but the changing immigration policies added to the trials and tribulations of her life. A well-told story which gave a solid background on US immigration policy and legislative history and the political issues that created changes. The author does a fine job of demonstrating intended and unintended consequences.

The House on Mango Street changed Aida Hernandez's life. In her darkest hours, she remembered the words of hope: "I have gone a long way to come back."

Aida wanted to dance. She wanted to finish high school and go to college. She wanted to become a therapist. She wanted to give her son a good home. She wanted to love and be loved. Her hopes were just like yours and mine.

But Aida's life held more horrors than any one body should be able to endure. She had survived even death but suffered from crippling CPTSD--Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She came from a legacy of abuse but a knife attack tipped her over the edge. It only took one mistake, a $6 mistake, to remove Aida from her son and family, locked up for months in a women's prison. They were not given tampons, or enough toilet paper, or adequate wholesome food. There were not enough beds or blankets to keep warm.

And that is when Aida saw The House on Mango Street on the prison library shelf and it started her reclamation and a life of helping the other women with her.

Aaron Bobrow-Strain's book The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez brings to life unforgettable women, and through their stories, explores the failure of Prevention Through Deterrence which posits that if the journey is horrific enough people will not come. Women suffer the most in this system.

He shows how American economic and political policies and the desire for cheap labor created the influx of illegal immigrants.

Immigrants in detention centers are treated like hardened criminals with shackles, solitary confinement, lack of medical care, meager inedible food, and a scarcity of hygiene supplies. They have no legal rights. They are provided no legal counsel. Border Patrol and detention centers have created jobs and business--paid for by the government.

Who are the people seeking refuge in America? What drives them from their homeland? What options are available for legal immigration? What happens to those who are apprehended? This book will answer all your questions. But you may not like the answers.

Justice. How many times have we forgotten this value?

The proceeds from this book will be shared between Aida Hernandez, the Chiricahua Community Health Centers to support emergency services for people dealing with domestic violence or sexual assault, and the author to offset costs of writing the book. Which for me means an instant add to my "to buy" list.

I thank the publisher who provided a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

An incredible story based on the life of Aida Hernandez, a Mexican woman who made her way to the U.S. only to experience one disaster after another, among them abuse, prison, homelessness, joblessness and poverty. The one shining light in her life was her son and she did everything she possibly could to keep them together.

The author learned of Aida and her story and through many interviews, along with his own research, turned her story, and the story of others, into a book. A timely border story that incorporates the history and difficulties of Mexicans migrating to the U.S. Aida's story, and others who tried and failed to relocate to the U.S., will resonate with readers who also follow the U.S. government's stand on immigration, a system that continues to be broken.

Reading this book, it's hard to believe everything that Aida went through. It's not an easy life for immigrants, even once they get to the U.S. Aida, however, persevered and built a life for her son and for herself. I only hope that she has finally found some peace and stability wherever she is living now.

Thank you Netgalley.