In this candid age-progressing memoir, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez shares her experience as a U.S. born daughter of immigrants. She lived south of the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona. Crossing into Mexico used to be seamless. Then her parents' visa expired and they were forced to return to Mexico. Elizabeth was left responsible for her younger brother and education.

Imagine living in fear. Imagine having to stay in Mexico when your life is in the United States. Imagine separating from your children and deciding to leave them a world away for a chance at better education. Imagine having to fade into crowds. Imagine working a job you hate in a system that doesn't see your family as humans. On a lighter note, imagine the smell of fresh tamales and watching Disney as a form of escape.

Elizabeth so honestly shares her experience from early childhood to adulthood with the hopes that readers will understand. She did a fine job translating her Brown girl story to print.

My Side of the River explores themes of immigration, broken families, separation trauma and sacrifices. There are sad moments but through it all, I admire Elizabeth's determination to succeed despite adversities and constantly fighting currents. Usually I recommend nonfiction releases to Bookhearts that like memoirs but My Side of the River needs to be read by politicians to absorb the effects of their views made into laws.

Happy Early Pub Day, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez! My Side of the River will be available Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

In My Side of the River, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrrez shares her story of growing up as the older daughter of Mexican immigrants living in Arizona. This memoir is a great combination of chronicling the author's family relationships and education and also the immigration policies that deeply impacted her life. Her writing style flows well and kept me engrossed in her story. Highly recommended for readers of memoirs and those interested in immigration issues.

While I enjoyed learning about the author's unique experiences and reading her creative prose, the overall unfolding of the story and development left a little to be desired. I know a memoir is not the same as an autobiography, however, I wasn't able to quite follow her pace or entirely follow her reasoning when it came to pacing and what she put in and left out of the story. One example of this is with her relationship with her brother. This may just be my perception and it doesn't take away from the power of the story or my enjoyment of it. Overall, it was a very inspiring read.

After growing up in Mexico, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez’s parents knew they wanted to have their children in the United States. When their visas ran out after years of struggling to make ends meet, they returned to Mexico. Gutierrez was 15 when she came back to the U.S. – alone – to complete her education because her parents were not allowed to return. She’s now written this engrossing memoir about her family, their harrowing experiences with the U.S. immigration system, how she managed and her dedication to making it easier for her brother to follow in her footsteps.

My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez shares her gripping experience as a U.S. born daughter of immigrants and what happened when, at fifteen, her parents were forced back to Mexico.
Gutierrez has written a beautiful memoir yet it was such a heartbreaking story.
I don’t know what it was but I was hooked to her journey. I couldn’t stop reading once I started.
A powerful and unforgettable read.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

At 15 years old Elizabeth is left alone in Tucson, Arizona when her immigrant parents and younger brother are forced to leave the US and move back to Mexico. With her parent's dreams of seeing Elizabeth achieve success they were not capable of, the most important thing becomes ensuring Elizabeth gets an education in America, even at the loss of family.

Life is not easy for Elizabeth, even before she is left on her own as a minor. Growing up, her family lived in extreme poverty because her parents were only in America on temporary visas and were not legally allowed to work. With a constant fear of deportation, her parents did not apply for any of the social assistance programs Elizabeth and her younger brother Fernando were entitled to as US citizens, worried the applications would be flagged. After her parents are denied reentry into the states, Elizabeth cares for her younger brother for a few months, and then is left alone with neglectful strangers to survive until graduation. Here she experiences loneliness and loss, while trying to be an adult without any of the resources she needed.

There were a lot of moments in this story that I could relate to in terms of my own childhood trauma. While much different than Elizabeth's my trauma did also involve being given adult responsibilities at too young an age. The frustrations she shared rang true for me in many instances, especially when she was expected to act as an adult without being given the resources or information required to do so successfully.

I learned a lot about the immigration system in the US, especially the problems faced by Mexican citizens in the mid 2000s. I had no idea there was a "show my your papers" law which required officers to demand immigration papers from anyone at any given time. Or that in 2010 there was a bill in Arizona that banned ethnic studies, including books by Mexican authors in school libraries. I can only imagine how hard that must have been for so many immigrants and even American citizens with Latinx backgrounds during that time (and I'm sure it continues today or at least in recent years). There were also a lot of quotes and anecdotal information that were woven throughout the story and really stayed with me long after I finished reading.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot and also connected with the author/narrator quite a bit. It was easy to follow in a memoir narrative chronological style and I appreciated the anecdotal and informative pieces woven throughout. A great book for anyone wanting to learn more about the immigrant experience in the southern US. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

I received this book as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

Elizabeth is a talented author.

Her memoir is very well written.

Her portrayal of the struggles, accomplishments and achievements she has attained is noteworthy.

My Side of the River: A Memoir by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez reveals her experience as the U.S.-born daughter of immigrants and what happened when, at fifteen, her parents were forced back to Mexico in this galvanizing yet tender memoir.

This should be a must-read for anyone wanting to experience the tenacity and determination of a young individual that is so much more than an immigrant story.

The story is engaging, heartfelt, complex and shows what one has to go through with government agencies and institutions. Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez documents her challenges and obstacles and shows strength and determination.

A touching and memorable memoir. I would recommend this book.

#NetGalley @StMartinsPress

This was so good. It tells the heartbreaking story of immigrants and what they will sacrifice to create a better life for their children and not the vilification of them by conservatives in this country. It shows what life along the border is .
It is a masterpiece of life along the border
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for Lyme review this book

I appreciated Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez sharing her story with us the readers. It was a wonderfully written book and I was engaged with the story overall. It had a great feel and did everything that I was hoping for from the description.

Elizabeth, a Tucson native born to Mexican immigrants, was on top of the world when she entered high school. But then, life threw her a curveball. Her parents' visas expired, and they had to return to Mexico, leaving Elizabeth to take care of her younger brother and continue her education.

With fierce determination, she refused to become just another statistic. Even though her parents couldn't stay, she was determined not to let go of the opportunities the U.S. had in store for her. So armed with nothing more than her passport and that stubborn teenage spirit, she found herself labeled an unaccompanied, homeless youth—a result of a broken immigration system that tears families apart.

At the core of this remarkable story is Elizabeth's incredible resilience and courage. Her journey is an inspiring example of human determination in the face of adversity. It serves as a reminder of the importance of approaching immigration issues with empathy and understanding. Elizabeth's story is one that deserves to be heard and celebrated.

I don't repeat publishers summaries in my reviews; rather my opinions of the writing and content, and how the book affected me. In my opinion, this is an excellent memoir . It swept me up with the compelling narrative. The writing is simple and accessible. Yet a myriad of more complex issues are covered with clarity, insight, tenderness, anger, sadness, humor, and more.

It's a bit difficult to write a lot of detail, because so much of the book is spoilers--so much happens in her journey. The first 30% or so is more foundational, less dramatic; setting a clear stage for what will ensue in her life path to now. She details both the pain and the warmth in her childhood, as the child of poor Mexican immigrants in the U.S., and fills us in with interesting stories. But then things really start to happen and it was very hard to put this book down!

One impressive thing is how she writes from childhood forward and seems to match the consciousness of each age in her writing. Meaning, in childhood I felt her awareness and wording matched a child. And so on up through each age. This gave me the very real feeling of being in her shoes, making this an immersive reading experience. I also felt that not only did the narrative evolve with her, but that each stage transitioned in such a natural, organic manner, and her descriptions again matched those transitions to where I felt a part of her story.

She also does something I REALLY appreciate: she translates most of any dialogue from the Spanish to the English in which I read this book. I understand inserting native language here and there in book, but I am truly fed up with those who don't translate it, which seems to unfortunately be in vogue.

This story is an immigrant story but so much more. It is about family, the educational system from elementary to the Ivy Leagues (& the help vs. oppression it may offer), the incomparable value of friends, stress, politics, the legal system, determination, domestic violence, food insecurity, working the system, responsibilities, burdens, stereotypes, life's ups and downs, and a hundred other things packed into this fairly quick, easy read.. Elizabeth shares her inner thoughts and breakdowns, as well as breakthroughs and victories in an honest and transparent manner. I recommend this to anyone and everyone.

This memoir was much more engaging than I had anticipated.
I often find challenges with the pacing of memoirs - finding that balance between acknowledgement of childhood events without being too heavily narrated by a child - but this memoir moved at pace that felt both natural and intriguing. It touched on so many topics while never veering too far away from the author's point of view.
Readable AND meaningful - highly recommend!

While the overlapping social issues of immigration, poverty, racism, and violence haunt the pages of this memoir, human strength, love, and persistence weave a cord of hope throughout Gutierrez's narrative. While these types of memoirs sometimes romanticize the heroic powers of the independent individual, My Side of the River rejects the simplistic telling for a more realistic look at the complex costs of having to fight against systems and institutions created to keep difference out.

Many thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for a free copy for review!

An engrossing story about a first generation American of Mexican immigrants, Elizabeth's journey is real and isn't afraid to point out racism, stereotypes, or common misconceptions. Themes of borders, imagined or real, the meaning of family, the value of education, and hard choices made to survive in a capitalist society all capture the experience of people trying to get a leg up in a world that wants to keep stepping on them. Full of heart and hope, I would recommend this to high school students and above.

"My Side of the River" by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez is a powerful and poignant memoir that delves into the author's personal journey as the U.S.-born daughter of Mexican immigrants. Gutierrez's storytelling is a moving testament to the resilience, determination, and unwavering love that can overcome even the most challenging circumstances.

The memoir begins with Gutierrez's early life in Tucson, Arizona, where she enjoyed the promise of a bright future. As the top student in her class, she was on the verge of entering high school with high hopes. However, her world is turned upside down when her parents' visas expire, forcing them to return to Mexico, leaving her and her younger brother behind. At just fifteen years old, Gutierrez finds herself navigating a complex web of challenges, from homelessness to the constant threat of family separation due to immigration laws.

Gutierrez's narrative is a heartbreaking exploration of the human cost of immigration policies. Through her personal experiences, she shines a spotlight on the countless others who have been affected by similar situations. Her struggles and sacrifices are a testament to her determination to grasp the opportunities available to her in the United States, despite the obstacles in her path.

One of the most moving aspects of the memoir is Gutierrez's unwavering commitment to her younger brother. Her love and dedication to providing him with a better future are palpable throughout the narrative. Their relationship is a central theme, highlighting the profound bond between siblings in the face of adversity.

The writing in "My Side of the River" is both evocative and heartfelt. Gutierrez's prose is straightforward yet emotionally charged, allowing readers to connect with her on a deeply personal level. Her story is a stark reminder of the importance of empathy and understanding when it comes to issues of immigration and family separation.

This memoir will undoubtedly resonate with readers who are interested in immigration narratives, personal resilience, and stories of hope in the face of adversity. Gutierrez's journey is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of family bonds.

In conclusion, "My Side of the River" is a courageous and moving memoir that offers a unique perspective on the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants and their families. Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez's story is a powerful reminder of the need for compassion and reform in immigration policies. Her memoir is a compelling and heartfelt contribution to the ongoing conversation about immigration in the United States.

I went through this book very quickly. It captured my attention from the get-go. I found it very relatable. I have a lot of family who went through very similar struggles. As a Mexican-American myself, this book was relatable in so many ways. The struggles of our parents to overcome their immigration status, not only surviving school, but striving, and always wondering if you truly belong. My college experience was mostly a positive one, but the doubt of having belonged in such a prestigious institution always was in the back of my head. Reading My Side of the River let me know that not only was I not alone in my journey, but it will help others currently going through the struggles know that they aren't alone. It's hard to be a part of the "ni de aqui, ni de alla" crowd, but Elizabeth wrote the sentiments of many into perfect words.

"They both knew from experience that the world simply wouldn't favor a brown uneducated Mexican girl. They knew how much of an advantage a good American education would be for their American daughter. They wanted the best for me." (loc. 133*)

Growing up in Arizona, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez knew that her parents worked themselves to the bone and struggled to get by—she lived it too. But it wasn't until she was a teenager that things changed irrevocably: her parents were denied visa renewals, and they couldn't get back into the US. With an American birth certificate and American passport, she could stay to get the education and future her parents wanted so desperately for her...but she'd have to do it alone.

"Before I even understood the concept of citizenship, I knew I was protected in a way that they weren't. They were always aware of authority figures, making themselves smaller around cops and the law, hiding—something I didn't feel the need to do. 'If you every feel unsafe, go to the police,' my parents instructed. Unlike them, I didn't need to hide." (loc. 184)

And so Camarillo Gutierrez became homeless and parentless, because none of the options for the present were good but this would at least give her a better chance for the future. It's worth noting that these are decisions that most Americans don't have to make—one might have to decide which divorced parent to live with, or whether or not to go to boarding school, but far less often to stay where one's parents cannot follow or to figure out everything from housing to food alone because of this. It's a devastating situation to consider, and one that Camarillo Gutierrez describes with precision and clear eyes.

I won't say too much about where this journey took her (read the book to find out), but I found the earlier parts of the book, as Camarillo Gutierrez was getting through primary and secondary school, to be most compelling. I think that's partly because some of her later experiences are ones I've heard before, in various forms—not to suggest that they aren't worth hearing again, but...there's something particularly visceral about a child knowing that their parents cannot come if they are needed, no matter how desperately they want to. Too, I think the focus gets diluted somewhat—the earlier parts of the book cover some broader racism and xenophobia but narrow in on the ways that certain laws and government policies continue to fail citizens like Camarillo Gutierrez; later that expands again to the more general racism that Camarillo Gutierrez was (is) up against as a brown woman in places where white voices dominate. I can't fault her for including that very valid part of her story, but it's the earlier parts that will stick with me.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

If you loved Educated by Tara Westover, you will love this book. I actually picked it because the description mentioned the similarities. Unlike Westover, Elizabeth is an immigrant in early 2000's Arizona, facing the consequences of the "Show me your papers" law and our broken immigration system, but saved by education in similar ways.

Elizabeth's story is permeated by a current of the anxieties of a first generation American who "must be the best". Often saved from sure destruction by life rafts of hope just at the last moment.

As a white woman, I can't imagine some of the challenges she faces, but as a first generation college graduate, her experiences in an early career workplace remind me of my own challenges. As a mother, I wanted to hold her in those moments of darkness and remind her that she is worthy, beautiful and loved.

I'm a better person for having read this story, a better American, and I am so grateful Elizabeth shared her story. I hope you'll read it upon the official release.

Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartins for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

I love a good memoir and this one was very good. She wrote about her experiences and what she went through in a way that you felt what she felt. The way she describes how those things affected her all they way through her adult life was so relatable as well. I really enjoyed this book.