No Option But North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the Border by Kelsey Freeman
1- What one question would you ask Trump and Biden at a 2020 presidential debate?
With Trump and Biden having drastically different positions on immigration, one question for both is difficult. Nevertheless, I would ask the candidates to make it personal: What they would do (in this current climate) if they were in the position of needing to migrate to the U.S.?
2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?
When I get stuck, it always helps to move! The perfect word or connection in ideas reveals itself when I’m running and can get lost in the rhythm of my feet hitting the ground.
3- What is the best piece of writing advice you've received?
In your first draft, write for yourself. In your second or third draft, you can start to consider the audience.
4- Would you please tell us more about your involvement as an advocate for Native education?
When I’m not writing, I run a college-readiness program for Native American high school students through Central Oregon Community College. My goal is to help my Native students come into college with the confidence that they belong, that they should be proud of who they are, and that should advocate for themselves and use their resources. We also do a lot of work around scholarships and the nuts and bolts of college. Additionally, I facilitate equity trainings at the college so the institution better serves its Native students.
5- Would you share a picture with us of your book with an intriguing background?
6- What do you say to angry people who imply that supporting immigration means job shortages, government resources depleted, increased crime or terrorism, and other such remarks?
These arguments come from false fears, so when I hear them, I like to focus on facts. For instance, I point out that undocumented immigrants pay 8% of all state and local tax revenue, while the richest 1% of Americans pays just 5.4%. At the same time, the majority of undocumented immigrants can't access social services and even documented immigrants routinely underuse programs they're eligible for. There’s so much more to say, but when I talk to people with these ideas, I try to unpack where these fears come from. Sometimes they hear me, and sometimes they don’t, but I try to get through.
7- What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?
You can find me at @kelseyjofreeman and I’d love to give a shout out to writers Jean Troustine @justicewithjean and Esther Nunoo @boomchackalacka (on Instagram).
8- Do you have a favorite #bookstagram image or account/ profile?
I follow and love Lupita.reads on Instagram!
9- What most motivates you to read a new book?
Overall, I look for books that teach me something about the world around me or myself, whether they are fiction or nonfiction.
10- It's our tenth anniversary! How far has your writing come in the past ten years and where do you see your writing career ten years from now?
Ten years ago I was 16, so my writing has come a long way! I have always loved writing and hoped to publish a book, so I am excited to have brought this goal to fruition. Over the next ten years, I plan to continue writing books that expose how key policy issues affect people’s lived experiences. One of my strengths as a writer is my ability to connect the personal with the political, so I intend to continue this focus over the next ten years.
11- What is your favorite book by someone else, what's the author's Twitter handle, and what do you love most about that book? #FridayReads book recommendation time!
A favorite book is too hard to choose! Favorite book of the moment is
Author name: Terese Marie Malhoit @TereseMarieM
Title: Heart Berries
Love because: it is so moving that I would often read a sentence, stop, and marvel at how a particular emotion could be so truthfully described. Searing and real, Heart Berries cuts to the heart of trauma, pain and resiliency.
12- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?
Above all, I hope my book evokes empathy. I hope readers consider what they would do if in put in the shoes of those who migrate.
13- What kind of impact do you hope your book will have?
The purpose of No Option but North is to cultivate respect and highlight the dignity of migrants as human beings. It highlights that migration is a game of options, or lack thereof. Those that lack certain privileges are more likely to leave their countries but are less likely to have legal avenues for migrating. They then undertake a brutal, violent journey through Mexico and across the border because their alternative choices for survival and decency have run out. I hope that readers see how the structural injustices and inadequacies render these harrowing stories possible and put migrants in impossible situations where truly, their only option is to head north.
14- What is the best writing tool, program, or reference book you've ever bought?
I was entirely new to the publishing process, so Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get It Published by Alfred Fortunato and Susan Rabiner was really helpful in terms of understanding how to query and pitch for publication.
15- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks
As a Jewish author, my grandmother’s story certainly played a role in my interest in this topic. She and her family escaped the Holocaust, fleeing Germany to Italy and eventually the U.S. No Option but North delves into what it means to migrate by necessity today. By centering the stories of working-class Central Americans and Mexicans, the book also explores how race, class and nationality play a role in who can come to the U.S. legally, and who has to undergo the perilous journey north.
16- Who is your favorite book review blogger?
I am a fan of The Rumpus, so I would certainly recommend it to those looking for new reads!
17- What was the deciding factor in your publication route?
Because No Option but North is my debut book, I wanted to traditionally publish it. However, as writer in my early twenties, I knew finding a publisher would be an uphill battle. As I swallowed rejections, I continued to pitch because I was confident that the themes in No Option but North were crucial and that the book would find a home. In 2019, I found IG Publishing, a small press in New York, and in 2020, I became a published author.
18- Which author, past or present, do you feel most resembles your work?
In terms of interweaving stories with contextual/policy analysis to better understand the world of immigration, I was most inspired by the writing of Óscar Martínez, Lauren Markham, and Jason De León.
19- Would you please ask our audience a question to answer in the comments?
What most motivates you to read a new book?
20- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?
About the book:
In the thick of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, and through the travel bans his administration issued in 2017, journalist Kelsey Freeman spent nine months interviewing Central American and Mexican migrants in a shelter in central Mexico, along the migrant path. No Option But North interweaves their stories with research and anecdotes from Freeman’s experiences to reveal the fundamental moral quandaries involved in contemporary migration—from the expanding gang violence that drives migrants out of their home countries, to their dearth of legal options on both sides of the border, and more. In the process, Freeman takes us on a harrowing journey that strikes at the heart of the human ability to endure. A timely chronicle of contemporary migration from Central America and Mexico that peels back the layers of privilege underlying American and Mexican migration policies, No Option But North adds powerful color and force to the immigration narrative.
About me:
As a writer and educator, Kelsey Freeman focuses on immigration policy, Indigenous rights, social justice, and public policy. After graduating from Bowdoin College, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English and study migration in central Mexico. She currently runs a college-readiness program for Native American high school students through Central Oregon Community College.
You can find out more at my website, kelseyfreemanauthor.com Or follow me on nooptionbutnorth (Instagram) or @kelseyjofreeman on Twitter.
No Option But North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the Border by Kelsey Freeman
