Authors Explore American Immigrant Experience : NPR

Authors Explore American Immigrant Experience : NPR: Immigrants bring many things to the U.S., but their lasting contribution to the country has always been their children. The NPR series 'Immigrants' Children' looks at that legacy, telling the stories of those children and examining the issues they face.

Award-winning authors Edwidge Danticat, Junot Diaz and Samina Ali all came to this country as children — Danticat from Haiti, Diaz from the Dominican Republic, and Ali from India.

As part of NPR's series on the children of immigrants, these three authors offer perspective on the transformation of immigrants in America as the next generation assimilates.

Edwidge Danticat's most recent book, Brother, I'm Dying, is a memoir about her uncle's tragic story of trying to immigrate to this country.


Author Junot Diaz was born in the Dominican Republic. His Pulitzer-prize winning book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, was praised for its vibrant prose and street-smart language, often in the Spanglish that surrounded Diaz growing up.

Samina Ali, author of Madras on Rainy Days, was raised both in India and the U.S like the protagonist in her novel, Layla.