The Book of Rosy: A Mother’s Story of Separation at the Border

“Offers hope in the face of desperate odds” – ELLE
Magazine, ELLE’s Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020

“[D]isturbing and unforgettable
memoir…This wrenching story brings to vivid life the plight of the many
families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.” – Publisher’s Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“[The]
haunting and eloquent…narrative of a Guatemalan woman's desperate search for a
better life." -Kirkus, STARRED Review

PEOPLE Magazine
Best Books of Summer 2020

TIME Magazine
Best Books of Summer 2020

PARADE Best
Books of Summer 2020 

Compelling
and urgently important, The Book of Rosy is the unforgettable story of
one brave mother and her fight to save her family.

When
Rosayra “Rosy” Pablo Cruz made the agonizing decision to seek asylum in the
United States with two of her children, she knew the journey would be arduous,
dangerous, and quite possibly deadly. But she had no choice: violence—from
gangs, from crime, from spiraling chaos—was making daily life hell. Rosy knew
her family’s one chance at survival was to flee Guatemala and go north.

After a
brutal journey that left them dehydrated, exhausted, and nearly starved, Rosy
and her two little boys arrived at the Arizona border. Almost immediately they
were seized and forcibly separated by government officials under the Department
of Homeland Security’s new “zero tolerance” policy. To her horror Rosy
discovered that her flight to safety had only just begun.

In The
Book of Rosy, with an unprecedented level of sharp detail and soulful intimacy,
Rosy tells her story, aided by Julie Schwietert Collazo, founder of Immigrant
Families Together, the grassroots organization that reunites mothers and
children. She reveals the cruelty of the detention facilities, the excruciating
pain of feeling her children ripped from her arms, the abiding faith that
staved off despair—and the enduring friendship with Julie, which helped her
navigate the darkness and the bottomless Orwellian bureaucracy.

A gripping account of the human
cost of inhumane policies, The Book of Rosy is also a paean to
the unbreakable will of people united by true love, a sense of justice, and
hope for a better future.

“[The] haunting and eloquent…narrative of a Guatemalan woman's desperate search for a better life." - Kirkus (STARRED Review)

“A must read. Gripping, beautiful, heartbreaking and life-affirming. This intimate tale of one woman's journey across the border shines a light on the circumstances that have led thousands of women to risk all in order to give their children a safer, better life. It's a testament to the compassion of strangers and that in these troubled times, storytelling still has the power to increase our empathy and understanding. Reading this book will change you for the better.” - J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Saints for All Occasions

“A deeply moving and very important book that tells the human story behind the tragedy of Central Americans seeking asylum in the US. This testament to the power of family, faith and community in the face of inhumane policies is gripping and eloquently and powerfully written. It ought to be read by everyone who claims to be an American. It ought to be read by everyone who is a citizen of the world.” - John Perkins, New York Times bestselling Author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman and Touching the Jaguar

“I am forever astonished by Rosayra, for her unbelievable strength to share this story with us, while still healing from its traumas and fighting for asylum. The Book of Rosy is a brave recording of one of America's most shameful moments.” - Christopher Soto, author of Sad Girl Poems

“This memoir is a handbook for everyday activism.”  - Shondaland

“[I]nspiring and hopeful, The Book of Rosy offers an intimately detailed and personal account of two mothers’ determination and strength…A powerful, emotional perspective that demonstrates how one family’s immigrant experience can transcend inflicted pain and trauma in order to become an example of abundant generosity and love.” 

“Offers an unflinching look at conditions in U.S. detention centers and a sobering reminder of the power of policy to change lives”