Enrique's Journey

It took me a little longer than expected to finish reading Enrique’s Journey. It is a tragic story. I never really knew about the drastic sacrifices that immigrants must face, fight and defeat for the greater good of their children and families lives.

I cannot even begin to imagine how it must feel for the mothers who leave their children and families behind because in their minds, it is the only way to give them a chance for a better life. On the flipside, the mere thought of what the children of Mexico must undergo to simply be with the mothers who had left them breaks my heart in more ways than one.

Sonia Nazario did an extraordinary job in telling the true story of the detailed experiences and hardships that Enrique encountered during his quest for his mother, Lourdes. It is obvious the great lengths Nazario went through that led her through a journey to accumulate the necessary information to write this book.

As depressing as it was to learn, reading Enrique’s Journey helped me to better understand why mothers would leave their children behind and move to the United States to work. I never realized the extent that parents go through just to be able to provide for their children until I had my daughter. This story makes me think about the kind woman who cleans my mother’s house. It makes me wonder about her life. Does she have children? Do they live with her? Are they in the care of other family members? Or, are they in desperate search of their mother?