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Migrant Heart: The Hidden Cost of the American Dream & Healing Through Storytelling w/ Reyna Grande

Virtual Author Talk

2026-07-16 14:00:00 2026-07-16 15:00:00 America/New_York Migrant Heart: The Hidden Cost of the American Dream & Healing Through Storytelling w/ Reyna Grande Award-Winning and Bestselling Author of The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home Virtual Branch -

Thursday, July 16
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Add to Calendar 2026-07-16 14:00:00 2026-07-16 15:00:00 America/New_York Migrant Heart: The Hidden Cost of the American Dream & Healing Through Storytelling w/ Reyna Grande Award-Winning and Bestselling Author of The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home Virtual Branch -

Award-Winning and Bestselling Author of The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home

Have questions for the author? Submit your question at registration and you may just hear the answer live! 

In her ambitious new memoir, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival.

What is the true power of stories? Can they heal the jagged edges of a traumatic childhood? Is the cost of telling the story worth the price of the cure?

With her signature blend of sophistication and raw honesty, Grande interrogates how living between two nations, two languages, and two identities has shaped the woman, mother, and writer she has become. Moving from the legacy of violence in her hometown of Iguala, Mexico, to a bittersweet family vacation in Europe spent reconciling her own impoverished past with her children’s world of abundance, she uncovers startling truths about the nature of survival.

Whether being racially profiled in the Arizona borderlands or finding unexpected wisdom from the slugs in her garden, Grande unflinchingly asks: How do we bridge the gap between who we were and who we have become? How do we turn pain into power? When memory threatens to define us, how can we use story to heal while still honoring our boundaries?

Register today for this virtual talk if you identify as a seeker, a dreamer, or “anyone who believes in the enduring, transformative power of finding one’s voice.”

About the Author:

Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US–Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels A Ballad of Love and Glory, Across a Hundred Mountains, and Dancing with Butterflies, the memoirs Migrant Heart, The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and A Dream Called Home, and the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com for more information.

Please be aware that registration is done through a third party, and you may be asked to share your email address and/or phone number.

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To request an accommodation, contact the library branch where you want the accommodation. If they are unable to help, or if you need an accommodation for an online resource or event, complete our Accommodation Request Form online or call Library Administration at 240-777-0002.

cm 1.1 01/03/2023

Virtual Branch

Branch manager
Maddie Hines

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Thu, Jul 02, 2:30pm - 4:00pm

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