Alien
Reflections on Being an Immigrant
$40.21
- Hardcover
104 pages
- Release Date
16 November 2026
Summary
A personal treatise from distinguished social scientist Sandro Galea on the indelible effects of being an immigrant-and what it means for the greater good.
“I am one of the lucky ones,” writes Sandro Galea. Galea left home in Malta at fourteen with his parents and sister as the island was rocked by political turmoil. The family made their way to Canada and Galea, in turn, eventually made his way to the United States. This is the story of Galea’s long, surreal journey …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780226853970 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0226853977 |
| Author: | Sandro Galea |
| Publisher: | The University of Chicago Press |
| Imprint: | University of Chicago Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 104 |
| Release Date: | 16 November 2026 |
| Weight: | 254g |
| Dimensions: | 18mm x 140mm x 216mm |
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Critics Review
“For most of his career, Sandro Galea has bent his searching intellect against the question of our health. How do we, working together as a community, center it, improve it, expand it, and celebrate it? In these times, we should all be thankful he has gone one step further in this work: what does it mean to be together in community in the first place? Who belongs here, to ”us”? Weaving personal and professional in a moving and vulnerable account, Galea reminds us what matters most has always been what ties us: our collective humanity.”
– Abdul El-Sayed | doctor, 2026 Michigan US Senate candidate, and coauthor of “Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide”“Keeping the broader immigrant experience in view while acknowledging his own privileges, Galea’s dual perspective is its own humility—the sense that any single story sits within a bigger one. In doing so, Alien explores the ways that immigration reveals how societies distribute risk, dignity, and care.”
– Dr. Céline Gounder | physician, epidemiologist, and medical journalist at CBS News and KFF Health News“Galea offers a powerful and deeply human reflection on what it means to live across borders. Blending personal narrative with sharp public health insight, Alien illuminates the lived experience of migration with empathy, clarity, and intellectual depth. At a time when migration shapes our global health and social realities, this book is both timely and essential—an invitation to better understand belonging, resilience, and our shared humanity.”
– Dr. Santino Severoni | Director of Health and Migration, World Health Organization“As a fellow physician, public health practitioner and immigrant, I recognized so much in these pages. Sandro Galea brings both lived experience and deep expertise to illuminate how the conditions surrounding immigration shape health, dignity, and belonging. This is a thoughtful, important book that not only deepens understanding, but compels urgent action.”
– Leana S. Wen | contributing columnist, Washington Post, and author of “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health”Sandro Galea
Sandro Galea is the Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the Washington University School of Public Health, the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health, and vice provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at Washington University in St. Louis. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and is one of the most cited social scientists in the world. He has served as a field physician for Doctors Without Borders and has held academic and leadership positions at Boston University, Columbia University, University of Michigan, and the New York Academy of Medicine. A prolific writer and speaker, his most recent book is Within Reason: A Liberal Public Health for an Illiberal Time.
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