Litquake - Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can't Forget episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 9, 2026 · 12 MIN

Litquake - Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can't Forget

from Crosscurrents · host KALW

For many immigrants, crossing the border is the first step on an often complicated, exhausting path of figuring out life in America. Author Reyna Grande experienced that first hand.As a child she migrated to the US with her parents, and has spent her writing career capturing the raw reality of life across borders. Her newest memoir is “Migrant Heart.” It interrogates how living between two nations, two languages, and two identities has shaped the person she’s become. Recently, Reyna spoke to KALW’s Angie Coiro as part of Litquake, at our live event space in Downtown San Francisco. In this excerpt from their conversation, Reyna explains how her struggles to straddle two languages is linked to her relationship with her parents, children, and her own identity. 

For many immigrants, crossing the border is the first step on an often complicated, exhausting path of figuring out life in America. Author Reyna Grande experienced that first hand. As a child she migrated to the US with her parents, and has spent her writing career capturing the raw reality of life across borders. Her newest memoir is “Migrant Heart.” It interrogates how living between two nations, two languages, and two identities has shaped the person she’s become.  Recently, Reyna spoke to KALW’s Angie Coiro as part of Litquake, at our live event space in Downtown San Francisco. In this excerpt from their conversation, Reyna explains how her struggles to straddle two languages is linked to her relationship with her parents, children, and her own identity.

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Litquake - Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can't Forget

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This episode was published on July 9, 2026.

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For many immigrants, crossing the border is the first step on an often complicated, exhausting path of figuring out life in America. Author Reyna Grande experienced that first hand.As a child she migrated to the US with her parents, and has spent...

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