After finishing Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez's memoir My Side of the River, I decided to wait three days before sitting down to compose my thoughts. My feelings about what I had read, along with my general impression of Gutierrez herself, were all over the map - and they still are. On the one hand, I greatly admire her work ethic and all that she has accomplished in her young life; on the other I can't help but resent a little her attitude toward the country that, despite the obstacles she faced, made it possible for Gutierrez to accomplish all that she has.
Gutierrez's story is a remarkable one. Her mother, as soon as she learned that she was pregnant with her first child, was determined to do whatever it took to give birth to that child in the United States rather than in Mexico. So baby Elizabeth was born in a Tucson hospital even though her parents returned to Mexico with her shortly thereafter. The family did not again take up residence in the U.S. until Elizabeth was four years old, and her younger brother would be born and start school in this country before expiration of her parents' tourist visas tore the family apart.
Elizabeth and Fernando remained in the U.S. while their parents unsuccessfully applied for new tourist visas. Suddenly Elizabeth, who was about to begin high school at the head of her class, was alone and responsible for the welfare of her little brother. That she would somehow manage to graduate at the head of her high school class and win scholarships to many of the best universities in the country is truly remarkable. Focusing on her mother's advice that she should always be the best student in the classroom, Elizabeth accomplished the near-impossible.
And despite becoming rather disillusioned by her experience in the banking industry, she has continued to do so.
That's the positive part of Gutierrez's story, but it's not the only part. At times she allows her accomplishments to be overshadowed by her resentment of U.S. immigration policy and a slip-of-the-tongue racism, such as when she accuses corporations in this country of "rushing to cover their white asses" after George Floyd's death. Or when she brags about gaming the system in order to "steal a little back" for herself as victim of what happened between Mexico and the U.S. in the mid-nineteenth century.
Gutierrez is right about a lot of what she says and feels about the way immigrants are treated in the U.S. but what she fails to mention or to understand is that it is different for legal immigrants than it is for those who cross the border illegally. The resentment and criticism she feels largely results from the way that too many immigrants abuse the system she is so critical of. That is certainly not to say that people like her parents are not in turn abused by having to take the low-paying jobs that will allow them to remain in the shadows. America's immigration system is broken, and immigration law, no doubt, desperately needs to be rewritten.
I recommend that everyone read My Side of the River and books like it with an open mind. There are good and bad guys on both sides of the equation, and both sides are as often wrong as they are right. People want a better life for their children than the one they had. It's always been that way, and it always will be that way. Surely there is a better way for us to work together to make that dream come true for more people.
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| Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez - Linked-In Photo |
I do want to read this one! And I can totally see how you'd have some mixed reactions to her story. I probably will, too. And when she blames the system for its unfairness...does she also blame her parents for their part in it all? I definitely think we need a better immigration system, but mostly for all those people who are trying to do it legally.
ReplyDeleteShe does seem at times to resent her parents after they return to Mexico for good and look upon her as their personal cash cow, but I don't recall her ever blaming them for gaming the "anchor baby" benefit the way they did. Once they remained in the country illegally (and even when here on tourist visas) they had to hide their work from authorities, and of course, there were willing Americans willing to exploit their labor and pay scales. It's a good book, I think, but one that does expose the blind spots that too many people have about illegal immigration. For every person that benefits and eventually becomes a productive citizen, I suspect that there are at least as many who continue to exploit the U.S. for as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting, Sam, despite not being my sort of book (often review of books I would not read are more fun than of books I actually have read). I was not familiar with the author but just read the NYT review and the reviewer reacted much like you: "Although “My Side of the River” is occasionally marred by puerile jabs at people Gutierrez feels wronged by, her story is a testament to the abiding allure — and often daunting reality — of the American dream."
ReplyDeleteThat comment from the NYT review reminded me of just how many people the author ends up complaining about...she is definitely an equal-opportunity complainer. She turned on a lot of people even within her community that she feels helped her - but not enough. It's a shame she has such a chip on her shoulder despite all the advantages that most immigrants will not be given. That is just, I suspect, who she is.
DeleteHi Sam, very good review and alot to think about. I don't see myself reading this memoir because too many people these days are writing memoirs when they are not even out of their 20's and I can't really relate.
ReplyDeleteI think Elizabeth Gutierrez has had struggles and deserves much credit for her success but the best memoirs are the ones where the writer looks inward and is honest about their flaws as well as their strengths. I sense there is not much introspection going on this book.
She is not at all introspective, in my estimation, other than to point fingers at others in order to justify her own behavior and reaction to her childhood. It certainly was not an easy childhood, but she does not seem to realize even today how lucky she was, really. I'm not sure that she is even close (maybe it's her youth speaking) to admitting that some of the problem is/was her and her behavior towards others.
DeleteI am sure I would learn a lot from reading this. But I cannot read everything so it is a maybe for me. I never know what may appeal to me in a year or so.
ReplyDeleteToday is publication day for Gutierrez, and I think there's some kind of big deal event planned for her in Los Angeles.
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