Finding Motherland: Essays about Family, Food, and Migration

by Helen Thorpe

Helen Thorpe, author of a trio of award-winning books about the experiences of immigrants, refugees, and veterans, shares seven essays she has written on the related themes of her own family's story, the labor that goes into producing local food, and the intersections of migration, race, and privilege. In the first essay, Thorpe takes us to the dairy farm in Ireland where her mother grew up, and shows us how Ireland is modernizing. She describes her family's decision to immigrate to the United States and how that reshaped her parents, and writes of becoming a mother herself. She shares stories of her neighbors, profiling an undocumented student in her local school district who carries the American flag for his ROTC unit, and illustrating the immense economic, legal, and social challenges facing an undocumented mother with whom she shares the same public school. She documents the labor of men from Mexico and Honduras who work to produce the locally grown food that we eat. In the final essay, she asks us to remember the forgotten past of Irish-American immigrants, who arrived penniless, starving, and often illiterate during the potato famine. Finding Motherland asks that we have greater compassion for those immigrants who arrive in the US today. Thorpe is a journalist and the author of three other books of narrative Just Like Us, Soldier Girls, and The Newcomers. Just Like Us was named one of the best books of 2009 by the Washington Post, and Soldier Girls was named the best nonfiction book of 2014 by Time Magazine. The Newcomers was described by The New York Times as “a delicate and heartbreaking mystery story” about 22 immigrant and refugee teens who share a classroom and learn English together.

141 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2020

About the author

Helen Thorpe is a journalist and the author of four books of narrative nonfiction. Malcolm Gladwell has said of her work, "Helen Thorpe has taken policy and turned it into literature."

JUST LIKE US (Scribner 2009) followed several DREAMers from adolescence into adulthood. It won the Colorado Book Award and was adapted for the stage. SOLDIER GIRLS (Scribner 2014) recounted the overseas deployments of three female veterans who served in the National Guard, and the challenges they faced on coming home. It was named Time Magazine's number one nonfiction book of the year, and the Boston Globe described it as "utterly absorbing, gorgeously written, and unforgettable." THE NEWCOMERS (2017) followed a classroom filled with refugee, asylum-seeking, and immigrant teens during their first year in America, as they learned English together in one ESL classroom. The New York Times Book Review called it "a delicate and heartbreaking mystery story."

FINDING MOTHERLAND (Must Read Books, 2020) is a self-published digital-only collection of personal essays. Thorpe writes about her parents decision to move to the United States, shares the stories of other immigrants in her neighborhood, and explores how Americans depend upon migrant workers to harvest local food. In the book's final essay, she asks why people who share her own ethnicity -- Irish-Americans -- are often hostile to or fearful of people whose backgrounds are different, and posits this is due to a misplaced "ethnostalgia" for a version of Ireland that no longer exists. The author attempts to facilitate deeper conversations about the intersections of socioeconomic standing, ethnicity, and legal status. Thorpe recorded the essays as an audiobook and released an ebook at the same time.

Born in London to Irish parents, Thorpe grew up as a legal resident of the United States, carrying a green card until she was 21. She is a veteran journalist who formerly worked as a staff writer (either directly on the payroll or via an annual contract) for The New York Observer, The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town" section, and Texas Monthly. She has also produced a radio documentary that has aired on Soundprint. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Reviews

[Dorothy]

You will love the resilience and character of the people you will meet in the brilliantly
told story.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The range of essays in this book went from great to extremely great. I enjoyed the Colorado-centric aspects of this book (Palisade Peaches and the farmers who grow them), as well as Thorpe’s more typical thoughtful stories of immigrants, both documented and undocumented. The Motherland theme includes her connections to her Irish roots and Irish immigrants in America, and adapting to becoming a mother herself.

[Taylor Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with Helen Thorpe's other works, these essays highlight the voices and stories of people who matter but fall outside our mainstream media and politics. Thorpe's writing continues to fuel powerful introspection on my role in my community -- locally and broadly.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is so wise and compassionate, and this seems like a very timely collection of her essays.

[Becca McCulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were lovely essays that demonstrated how we are all immigrants and need to show more compassion for those forced to leave their homeland.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The title tells you what it is about and if you know the author, there is nothing else that has to be said.