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Virtual Author Talk

Reyna Grande - "Migrant Heart"

2026-07-16 14:00:00 2026-07-16 15:00:00 America/New_York Virtual Author Talk In her ambitious new memoir, "Migrant Heart", beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival. Westlake Porter Public Library - Online

Thursday, July 16
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Add to Calendar 2026-07-16 14:00:00 2026-07-16 15:00:00 America/New_York Virtual Author Talk In her ambitious new memoir, "Migrant Heart", beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival. Westlake Porter Public Library - Online

In her ambitious new memoir, "Migrant Heart", beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival.

In her ambitious new memoir, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival.

What is the true power of stories? Can they heal the jagged edges of a traumatic childhood? Is the cost of telling the story worth the price of the cure?

With her signature blend of sophistication and raw honesty, Grande interrogates how living between two nations, two languages, and two identities has shaped the woman, mother, and writer she has become. Moving from the legacy of violence in her hometown of Iguala, Mexico, to a bittersweet family vacation in Europe spent reconciling her own impoverished past with her children’s world of abundance, she uncovers startling truths about the nature of survival.

Whether being racially profiled in the Arizona borderlands or finding unexpected wisdom from the slugs in her garden, Grande unflinchingly asks: How do we bridge the gap between who we were and who we have become? How do we turn pain into power? When memory threatens to define us, how can we use story to heal while still honoring our boundaries?

Register today for this virtual talk if you identify as a seeker, a dreamer, or “anyone who believes in the enduring, transformative power of finding one’s voice.”

About the Author:  Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US–Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels A Ballad of Love and GloryAcross a Hundred Mountains, and Dancing with Butterflies, the memoirs Migrant HeartThe Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and A Dream Called Home, and the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com for more information.


Brought to you in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium. Visit our site to see all events, register and explore recordings of past events.

AGE GROUP: | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Books and Authors |

TAGS: | LSC |

Westlake Porter Public Library

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Westlake Porter Public Library is an independent public library serving the residents of the city of Westlake, western Cuyahoga County and eastern Lorain County. The library is located at 27333 Center Ridge Road in Westlake, Ohio. Anyone who lives, works, owns property, or goes to school in Ohio can register for a free library card.

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