From The Bookshelves: Solito by Javier Zamora

Here’s a book I simultaneously can’t wait to read and can’t bear the thought of reading. Solito is a memoir by Javier Zamora. It chronicles his solo journey from El Salvador to the United States at the tender age of 9.

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago—“one day, you’ll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.”

Javier Zamora’s adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.

At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents’ arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside fellow migrants who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.

A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.

You can read more about Javier Zamora on his website. In addition to this memoir, Zamora is a prolific poet. He’s published in numerous outlets and has a collection of poetry called Unaccompanied that crosses much of the same ground as Solito through the medium of poetry.

Zamora is also on a bit of a press junket at the moment, so there are a lot of additional ways to learn more about him including this story from WaPo, this KRCW podcast, and this LA Times piece.

-KitJ