Citizenship

“The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I’ve ever read. Daisy Hernández marvelously blends her family’s story with the story of citizenship itself. In her pen, everything is illuminated to a point in which we can understand our present moment better. This book is a must-read!”—Javier Zamora, New York Times bestselling author of Solito“Hernández blends her own story as the daughter of a Cuban father and Colombian mother with a review of academic literature to unsettle the concept of citizenship in this country.”—Texas Observer“Superb.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “I have spent the better part of my life exploring what it means to be American, and now Daisy Hernández has written the book I have always wanted to read: a rigorous deconstruction of the existential issue of our time.”—Jose Antonio Vargas, author of Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen and winner of the Pulitzer Prize“[Citizenship] promises to expose how being a citizen here is not what we have been led to believe. Everyone should read this. The more we understand the United States’ history, our laws, and immigrant narratives, the more we will all understand—and have empathy for—each other.”—Latina Media Co“Hernández, already widely recognized as an expert at integrating sophisticated reporting and personal memoir, here brings her lucky audience a perfect volume for our extreme times. Her wide-ranging perspective on America’s most intimate moral crisis, combined with a highly readable style, both reflects the lived experience of immigration and makes it accessible for all readers. This is a relevant and moving book, to be read in community and widely discussed in book clubs, in classrooms, in libraries, and on subways… . A gift.”—Sarah Schulman, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity“How did ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ turn upside down to where we are today? With integrity and intelligence, Citizenship documents this story. Daisy Hernández has clearly done her homework. Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike… . Brilliant!”—Sandra Cisneros“As we reel in social and political chaos, with the noise around words like ‘immigrant,’ ‘birthright,’ and ‘citizen’ especially confounding, it’s reassuring to have an astute and composed writer like Daisy Hernández to guide us back to reason. Citizenship offers a remarkable narrative that blends family chronicle with a historical account of America’s cruel policies, revealing that despite persistent adversity we continue to strengthen our communities.”—Rigoberto González, award-winning poet and professor“I have deeply admired Daisy Hernández’s previous work, and Citizenship has cemented my status as her ultimate fan. Her singular voice and profound insights feel more essential than ever. This is a book that demands to be read by everyone.”—Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us“Citizenship blends in-depth reporting with memoir to interrogate the very idea of American citizenship, highlighting notions of citizenship through exclusion, social citizenship, semi-citizenship, queer citizenship, dual citizenship, and citizenship as membership. Pulling from her personal experience as the queer daughter of Cuban and Colombian immigrants, Hernández identifies the fictions that make up our conception of American citizenship.”—Public Books“In this potent synthesis … Daisy Hernández explores the complex meaning of American citizenship … She provides a profoundly intimate and pressing analysis of inclusion and exclusion by examining the laws, language and cultural attitudes that define membership. Citizenship is a bold, provocative investigation of what it really means to be an American.”—BookTrib“Award-winning writer and journalist Hernández courageously delves into the concept of citizenship in this personal, profound, engaging, and comprehensive study… . Based on rigorous scholarship documented in exhaustive notes, this is an essential book for these contentious times.”—Booklist, starred review“A fine contribution to the swirling discussion around citizenship, birthright or otherwise.”—Kirkus Reviews“An evocative and persuasive contribution to the immigration debate.”—Publishers Weekly“Filled with candid, personal narratives that guide readers to stretch back into the past, Hernández’s new book, Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth, is a must-read for the moment we are living in.”—Evanston RoundTable

Daisy Hernandez is the author of The Kissing Bug, winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the inaugural title for the National Book Foundation’s Science + Literature Program. Her memoir, A Cup of Water Under My Bed, won Lambda Literary’s Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award and was a Publishing Triangle Award finalist. She co-edited the classic feminist anthology Colonize This! and is an associate professor of creative writing at Northwestern University.

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