Enrique's Journey

Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother is a best-selling nonfiction book by Sonia Nazario, an American journalist best known for her work on social justice. Originally published in 2006, the book is based on Nazario’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Enrique’s Journey” series, which was written in six parts and published in The Los Angeles Times.

The book, which has been published in eight languages and adapted for young adults in English and Spanish, is the product of extensive research. In addition to conducting detailed interviews with Enrique and his relatives, Nazario traveled to Honduras to recreate what Enrique experienced during his passage to the United States. By digging deep into Enrique’s background, Nazario is able to give a compelling account of both a geographical journey and an emotional one, for Enrique’s enduring feelings of resentment, abandonment, and anger prove to be perhaps as challenging as his journey across the border.

This summary refers to the 2007 edition published by Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Summary

Enrique’s Journey consists of 10 parts: a Prologue, seven chapters, an Afterword, and an Epilogue. In the Prologue, Nazario explains that she wrote the LA Times articles and book after learning that many single mothers in Central America abandon their children to find work in the United States.