I’ve just finished the manuscript of my second novel River with No Bridge. My main character is Nora Flanagan, an Irish immigrant whose story begins in 1882. Of course, America, as Emma Lazarus’ words on the Statue of Liberty tell us, has long been about those “yearning to breathe free,” who find their way to our “golden door.” I’m also the mother of an adopted daughter who is a naturalized citizen, so those words mean a great deal to me.
Although my protagonist, Nora, enters America from a ship that anchors in Boston, some years ago I visited Ellis Island where so many arrived. The big rooms, high ceilings, stairs, simply the vastness of the place made me think what shocks were in store for those who left their homelands. It was a life of gains, but losses, too.
Several books I’ve read in the last couple years are about immigrants. It’s interesting that in a few of these novels, the people couldn’t, or wouldn’t, or struggled with whether or not to stay in the United States. For example, the main character in Barbara Kingsolver’s, The Lacuna, flees under the oppression of McCarthyism’s anti-communist witch-hunt. In Ellis Island, by Kate Kerrigan, an Irish woman is torn between staying in free and prosperous America and returning to her husband in Ireland who bears physical and mental scars from The Troubles, the Irish resistance to English rule.In Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese, a young medical student from Ethiopia is assigned to an inner city hospital where he must struggle to rise in his medical career. He becomes a doctor, but the homeland that needs him has a strong pull.
Even for those who stay, there are life’s losses. In The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri, a marriage falls apart due to events that occurred in India before the wife’s arrival in America.
Virtually all the novels show characters falling in love with the United States even though they think longingly of the people and lands left behind. Most stay and live well overall. How hard they work to survive and belong here.
Every immigrant’s story is unique. Those who leave are enriched by their years here in education or life experience, but those who stay contribute to the country so many still aspire to enter and stay in. The Lady with the Lamp still symbolizes hope for a better life. What is your family’s story?