Overview

A provocative, personal, blazingly intelligent examination of one of the most vexing questions facing the United States today-who is, and should be, a citizen? ""How did 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free' turn upside down to where we are today? Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. Brilliant!""-Sandra Cisneros ""The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I've ever read. A must-read!""-Javier Zamora A provocative, personal, blazingly intelligent examination of one of the most vexing questions facing the United States today- Who is, and should be, a citizen? "" A fascinating, urgently needed new book.""-Chicago Tribune ""How did 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free' turn upside down to where we are today? Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. Brilliant!""-Sandra Cisneros ""The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I've ever read. A must-read!""-Javier Zamora ""The book I have always wanted to read.""-Jose Antonio Vargas ""Personal, profound, engaging, and comprehensive . . . this is an essential book for these contentious times.""-Booklist (starred review) A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR- Chicago Review of Books, Autostraddle, Publishers Lunch In this one-of-a-kind book, Daisy Hernandez fiercely interrogates one of the most complicated subjects of contemporary life and politics- citizenship. Braiding memoir, history, and cultural criticism, she exposes the truths and lies of how we define ourselves as a country and a people. Turning to her own family's stories-her mother arrived from Colombia, while her father was a political refugee from Castro's Cuba-Hernandez shows how the very idea of citizenship is a myth, one of the stories we tell ourselves about the American soul and psyche. Reframing our understanding of what it means to be an American, Citizenship is an urgent and necessary account of the laws, customs, and language we use to include and exclude, especially those who come from Latin America. With her scholar's mind and memoirist's gift for narrative, Hernandez weaves a story both personal and national, while reckoning with our country's ongoing debate about who belongs and providing fresh ways of thinking about citizenship. At once bracing, fearless, and tender, Citizenship is a powerful portrait of one family's experiences in the borderlands of citizenship and an honest illumination of the country in which we live.

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9780593730171

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Reviews

“The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I’ve ever read. Daisy Hernández marvelously blends her family's story with the story of citizenship itself. In her pen, everything is illuminated to a point in which we can understand our present moment better. This book is a must-read!”—Javier Zamora, New York Times bestselling author of Solito “How did ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ turn upside down to where we are today? With integrity and intelligence, Notes on Citizenship documents this story. Daisy Hernández has clearly done her homework. Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. . . . Brilliant!”—Sandra Cisneros “Hernández, already widely recognized as an expert at integrating sophisticated reporting and personal memoir, here brings her lucky audience a perfect volume for our extreme times. Her wide-ranging perspective on America’s most intimate moral crisis, combined with a highly readable style, both reflects the lived experience of immigration and makes it accessible for all readers. This is a relevant and moving book, to be read in community and widely discussed in book clubs, in classrooms, in libraries, and on subways. . . . A gift.”—Sarah Schulman, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity “As we reel in social and political chaos, with the noise around words like ‘immigrant,’ ‘birthright,’ and ‘citizen’ especially confounding, it’s reassuring to have an astute and composed writer like Daisy Hernández to guide us back to reason. Notes on Citizenship offers a remarkable narrative that blends family chronicle with a historical account of America’s cruel policies, revealing that despite persistent adversity we continue to strengthen our communities.”—Rigoberto González, award-winning poet and professor “I have deeply admired Daisy Hernández’s previous work, and Notes on Citizenship has cemented my status as her ultimate fan. Her singular voice and profound insights feel more essential than ever. This is a book that demands to be read by everyone.”—Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us

“The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I’ve ever read. Daisy Hernández marvelously blends her family's story with the story of citizenship itself. In her pen, everything is illuminated to a point in which we can understand our present moment better. This book is a must-read!”—Javier Zamora, New York Times bestselling author of Solito “I have spent the better part of my life exploring what it means to be American, and now Daisy Hernández has written the book I have always wanted to read: a rigorous deconstruction of the existential issue of our time.”—Jose Antonio Vargas, author of Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen and winner of the Pulitzer Prize “[Citizenship] promises to expose how being a citizen here is not what we have been led to believe. Everyone should read this. The more we understand the United States’s history, our laws, and immigrant narratives, the more we will all understand—and have empathy for—each other.”—Latina Media Co. “Hernández, already widely recognized as an expert at integrating sophisticated reporting and personal memoir, here brings her lucky audience a perfect volume for our extreme times. Her wide-ranging perspective on America’s most intimate moral crisis, combined with a highly readable style, both reflects the lived experience of immigration and makes it accessible for all readers. This is a relevant and moving book, to be read in community and widely discussed in book clubs, in classrooms, in libraries, and on subways. . . . A gift.”—Sarah Schulman, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity “How did ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ turn upside down to where we are today? With integrity and intelligence, Citizenship documents this story. Daisy Hernández has clearly done her homework. Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. . . . Brilliant!”—Sandra Cisneros “As we reel in social and political chaos, with the noise around words like ‘immigrant,’ ‘birthright,’ and ‘citizen’ especially confounding, it’s reassuring to have an astute and composed writer like Daisy Hernández to guide us back to reason. Citizenship offers a remarkable narrative that blends family chronicle with a historical account of America’s cruel policies, revealing that despite persistent adversity we continue to strengthen our communities.”—Rigoberto González, award-winning poet and professor “I have deeply admired Daisy Hernández’s previous work, and Citizenship has cemented my status as her ultimate fan. Her singular voice and profound insights feel more essential than ever. This is a book that demands to be read by everyone.”—Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us “Award-winning writer and journalist Hernández courageously delves into the concept of citizenship in this personal, profound, engaging, and comprehensive study. . . . Based on rigorous scholarship documented in exhaustive notes, this is an essential book for these contentious times.”—Booklist, starred review “A fine contribution to the swirling discussion around citizenship, birthright or otherwise.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I’ve ever read. Daisy Hernández marvelously blends her family's story with the story of citizenship itself. In her pen, everything is illuminated to a point in which we can understand our present moment better. This book is a must-read!”—Javier Zamora, New York Times bestselling author of Solito “How did ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ turn upside down to where we are today? With integrity and intelligence, Citizenship documents this story. Daisy Hernández has clearly done her homework. Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. . . . Brilliant!”—Sandra Cisneros “Hernández, already widely recognized as an expert at integrating sophisticated reporting and personal memoir, here brings her lucky audience a perfect volume for our extreme times. Her wide-ranging perspective on America’s most intimate moral crisis, combined with a highly readable style, both reflects the lived experience of immigration and makes it accessible for all readers. This is a relevant and moving book, to be read in community and widely discussed in book clubs, in classrooms, in libraries, and on subways. . . . A gift.”—Sarah Schulman, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity “As we reel in social and political chaos, with the noise around words like ‘immigrant,’ ‘birthright,’ and ‘citizen’ especially confounding, it’s reassuring to have an astute and composed writer like Daisy Hernández to guide us back to reason. Citizenship offers a remarkable narrative that blends family chronicle with a historical account of America’s cruel policies, revealing that despite persistent adversity we continue to strengthen our communities.”—Rigoberto González, award-winning poet and professor “I have deeply admired Daisy Hernández’s previous work, and Citizenship has cemented my status as her ultimate fan. Her singular voice and profound insights feel more essential than ever. This is a book that demands to be read by everyone.”—Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us

Author Information

Daisy Hernandez is the author of The Kissing Bug, winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the inaugural title for the National Book Foundation's Science + Literature Program. Her memoir, A Cup of Water Under My Bed, won Lambda Literary's Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award and was a Publishing Triangle Award finalist. She co-edited the classic feminist anthology Colonize This! and is an associate professor of creative writing at Northwestern University.

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