Before she ever set foot in the United States, Reyna Grande learned that borders exist in the heart long before they appear on a map .

In her fiercely honest memoir *The Distance Between Us*, Reyna and her siblings are left behind in Mexico under the care of a stern grandmother while their parents cross into “El Otro Lado” to chase a better future . When Reyna finally embarks on her own perilous journey north to rejoin a father who feels like a stranger, she discovers that arriving in America brings a fresh battleground of cultural alienation, complicated family wounds, and strict expectations .

Raw, gripping, and deeply moving, this coming-of-age story speaks directly to anyone fighting to define their own identity, bridge the painful distances within their family, and claim the power of their own voice .