By reading this book the reader can understand the struggle and sacrifice that immigrants go through to obtain a better life. This book addresses many controversial issues including: immigration, rape, gangs, drugs, teen pregnancy, abandonment, and poverty. Hearing Enrique’s story is sad yet inspiring. The idea of a mother leaving her children in another country and not being able to see them grow up is unthinkable for women in the United States but it is very common in Latin American countries. Enrique’s mother, Lourdes, had to make the difficult decision to leave Enrique and his sister in Honduras while she traveled to America in order to help provide for them and give them a better life. It is Sonia Nazario’s goal to challenge the readers thinking of immigration and inform them of the cruelties that happen in the process of freedom. Seeing the effect that growing up without a mother had on Enrique the reader senses theme that family is …show more content…
My mother sacrificed her time to make sure that my sister and I had the best school experience possible. When she could have been dating and spending time on herself like I have seen some of my other friends parents do she was always around. This book made me appreciate my mother for being at all of my events and making sure she was home for dinner each night. It was not until I got older that I realized how strong she was by leaving my father and moving into a better neighborhood so that my sister and I would have better educational opportunities. Although I did not grow up without my mother around like Enrique my father was not around much so I can relate to Enrique’s longing to be with a parent. Just like Enrique when I was younger I thought that if my parents stayed together life would be better. Although we had some points in our life where we struggled financially I came to appreciate my parents divorce because my relationship with my mother grew and she was a lot happier. Unlike Enrique I tried to remain respectful towards my mother. I do not agree with the way he made his mother feel for coming to the United