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Here We Are

American Dreams, American Nightmares (A Memoir)

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Here We Are

By: Aarti Namdev Shahani
Narrated by: Aarti Namdev Shahani
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About this listen

"This is simply a beautiful, moving memoir read exceptionally well by Shahani." (AudioFile Magazine)

This program is read by the author.

Here We Are is a heart-wrenching memoir about an immigrant family's American dream, the justice system that took it away, and the daughter who fought to get it back, from NPR correspondent Aarti Namdev Shahani.

The Shahanis came to Queens - from India, by way of Casablanca - in the 1980s. They were undocumented for a few unsteady years, and then, with the arrival of their green cards, they thought they'd made it. This is the story of how they did, and didn't; the unforeseen obstacles that propelled them into years of disillusionment and heartbreak; and the strength of a family determined to stay together.

Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares follows the lives of Aarti, the precocious scholarship kid at one of Manhattan's most elite prep schools, and her dad, the shopkeeper who mistakenly sells watches and calculators to the notorious Cali drug cartel. Together, the two represent the extremes that coexist in our country, even within a single family, and a truth about immigrants that gets lost in the headlines. It isn’t a matter of good or evil; it's complicated.

Ultimately, Here We Are is a coming-of-age story, a love letter from an outspoken modern daughter to her soft-spoken Old World father. She never expected they'd become best friends.

©2019 Aarti Namdev Shahani (P)2019 Macmillan Audio
Emigration & Immigration Women Dream Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

2019 Library Journal Best Books of the Year

"This is simply a beautiful, moving memoir read exceptionally well by Shahani, a reporter for NPR.... Shahani does a wonderful job telling her family's story - including seamlessly shifting between English and the multiple languages her family speaks. This is a gripping memoir of struggle, hardship, family strife, and, in the end, achieving the American dream." (AudioFile Magazine)

"This timely, bittersweet immigration story will resonate powerfully with readers." (Publishers Weekly)

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