Our Shared Shelf discussion

Dear OSS,
I'm sure a lot of you have read (or are reading) Solito, Solita by now. We are very happy to say that we have been given the chance to ask two of the leading contributors to that book (Soledad and Gabriel) some questions.

This book is incredibly timely, especially in America given the current border situation.

Please write your questions below in the comments, it would be great to hear them! :)

Thank you,
The OSS Mods

I've been reading half of the book so far and I saw Gabriel's story and her LYRIC implication, I would have love to know how it works when you're a refugee without paper because it appears you have to be a citizen or at least have paper, hun ! 💁‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Such a racist country, hun 😪 so admirative of that woman !

I wish to start by thanking Soledad and Gabriel for sharing their stories with us. Your stories made a strong impression on me.

Now for my questions.
What are your greatest hope and goal for the future, both personally and for the world in general?

What is needed, in your mind, and what can be done to improve the situation in Central America?

What kind of books do you like to read, if you like it? :)

Thank you :D

Hello Anne,

This is Soledad Castillo. Thanks to you for reading the book :)

I wish and hope that God will continue giving me strength to accomplish my goals. Some of my goals are to obtain my Master in Social Work and find a way to reunited with my family. I miss them so much.

I wish we can live in a more humanize world- where people can take care and support each other not matter the race, gender, etc..

I just came back from Honduras and my heart was broken to see the conditions that my people live, so much poverty , violence and corruption. What I think is needed is to find a President that really cares for the community (specially low income people). We need to educated ourselves to understand and see the conditions of Central America, people are not immigrant because they want, they are immigrating because its a necessary in order to survive.

I like to read non-fiction :)

Hi Soledad and Gabriel! Thank you both for sharing the stories of your respective journeys to the U.S.A, which proved very insightful and made me aware of a world that I’ve rarely been exposed to before. Here are some questions for you both that I have after reading Solito Solita:

• Have you seen or heard of any indications of improvement, within your countries of origin, to help cope with the issues that made you want to migrate to the U.S.A?

• Having lived in the U.S.A for an extended period, have your views on immigration changed at all since you first arrived?

• Are there any policies that you feel should be pushed by the U.S.A, with regards to their immigration laws?

• What, in your opinion, is something that the U.S.A does well with the welfare of its immigrants?

• What would be your best piece of advice for someone who is wishing to make the journey to the U.S.A from Central America?

• What is the thing that you have struggled with the most since living in the U.S.A?

Thanks a lot for your time :)