What this episode covers
Rev. Dr. Tony Tian-Ren Lin talks to award-winning author Reyna Grande about her recent book, A Ballad of Love and Glory (Blackstone Publishing, 2022), a historical novel set in South Texas and Northern Mexico in the mid-1800s. The book marks a departure from her more personal work, such as her much-celebrated memoirs The Distance Between Us (Washington Square Press, 2013) and A Dream Called Home (Washington Square Press, 2019). Born in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, she was two years old when her father left for the U.S. to find work. Her mother followed her father north two years later, leaving Grande and her siblings behind in Mexico. In 1985, when Grande was nine, she left Iguala to make her own journey north and ran across the US-Mexico border to reunite with her family. She lived as an undocumented immigrant for about five years. After attending Pasadena City College for two years, Grande became the first person in her family to set foot in a university. "I went on to study creative writing because I fell in love with reading, with books and stories,” says Grande. Although she started writing when she was 13, she credits her English professor in community college with helping her realize “that I could pursue a career as a writer." Grande’s first novel Across a Hundred Mountains (Atria, 2006) would go on to launch her writing career. "I'm very grateful to be able to say that this is my job,” she adds. “Telling stories and being able to promote and advocate for my immigrant community through the stories that I tell."
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