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Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller
Chris Farrell and Kelly Gordon

'Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares'

Aarti Shahani, author of "Here We Are"
Aarti Shahani covers Silicon Valley for NPR, but her book “Here We Are” tells a very different story. It’s a memoir which she describes as a coming-of-age story and a eulogy to her late father. She tells the story of her family’s struggle after her father was convicted of money laundering and threatened with deportation.
Photo by Nickolai Hammar | Courtesy of Celadon Books

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'Here We Are' by Aarti Shahani
'Here We Are' by Aarti Shahani
Courtesy of publisher

Aarti Shahani's family came to Queens from India in the 1980s. Originally undocumented, they thought the arrival of their green cards would grant them stability. And it did, for a while. But then a series of unforeseen circumstances shipwrecked their American dream.

Shahani's book is the story of a family fighting to stay together, and it offers a startling portrait of what it means to be an immigrant in America today.

Monday, guest host Chris Farrell spoke with Shahani about her memoir, her family, and the complications immigrants face in America.

Guest:

Aarti Shahani, NPR contributor and author of “Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares”