What would make you leave everything you have ever known behind, and pack the most minimal things in a backpack, grab two of your children, and decide to make a dangerous trip in extreme conditions, across a border, to a country where you didn’t know the language, or the culture and where you didn’t have anyone?
In this episode Diana talks to Rosy Pablo Cruz and Julie Schwietert Collazo, authors of The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border.
The book tells the story of Rosy, who arrived in the United States a few days after the zero tolerance immigration policy went into effect in 2018. Once she arrived, she was separated from her children for over 80 days.
It also tells the story of how one mom channeled her anger at this inhumane policy to make a difference: At first, Julie thought she would raise money to help one mom, and to date, the organization she co-founded along with her husband and an army of volunteers has raised over $1 million and has post bond for 120 families.
The Book of Rosy does a beautiful job of humanizing Rosy's story, which shows you a glimpse of the factors that force parents to flee incredibly dangerous conditions to make it to the United States.
It's a must read especially in these troubling times when families are still being detained and separated.
Listen to this conversation to learn how these family separation brought two women from different worlds together in a story full of despair, hope and faith.
