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Civil rights advocate Qian Julie Wang came to her current work after a decade of commercial litigation experience and a childhood haunted by the threat of deportation.

In an event produced by Doubleday in collaboration with Kepler's Literary Foundation, Bookshop Santa Cruz and Book Soup, we are excited to host this talent-on-the-rise for Beautiful Country, a searing and hotly anticipated new memoir of growing up poor and undocumented in the wealthiest country on earth.

"Extraordinary... With immense skill, Wang parses how her family's illegal status blighted nearly every aspect of their life, from pushing her parents' marriage to the brink to compromising their health. While Wang's story of pursuing the American dream is undoubtedly timeless, it's her family's triumph in the face of "xenophobia and intolerance" that makes it feel especially relevant today. Consider this remarkable memoir a new classic." — Publishers Weekly, *Starred Review*

"The writing is sparse, stylish, sometimes harrowing and sometimes humorous as she narrates experiences that are incredibly common but rarely captured with this level of artful control. It's shaping up to be one of the best memoirs of the year. — Bookpage, *Starred Review*

In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to "beautiful country." Yet when seven-year-old Qian Julie arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she experiences crushing fear and scarcity. In China, her parents were professors; in America, her family is "illegal” and trapped in a complex struggle for survival. When headstrong Mama collapses in poor health and Ba Ba retreats into himself, young Qian Julie draws on her own resources, and does her best to hide the family’s status.

Angie Coiro welcomes a strong new voice in the American canon for one of the best books of this year.

Photo of Qian Julie Wang by Ryan Muir.