Learning More about the People of Juarez

One of my hopes in working on Beth Kephart's moving The Heart is Not a Size was to find ways to share the stories of Juarez, to help others find a place to share their stories, so all of our understanding could increase. Author Sarah McCoy lives in El Paso, Texas and offered to write a guest blog for the special The Heart is Not a Size blog. I was moved by her post and I think you'll see she's a fantastic writer. I'm anxious for the chance to read her book, The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico.

Here's the beginning of the post, be sure to read the rest at The Heart is Not a Size blog

Hope Fires in the Desert by Sarah McCoy

Across the border in winter, Juarez families burn trash to keep warm. Smoke rises liked dirty cotton candy spun heavenward in hot plumes. Driving around the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), you smell it before you see it. Ripe and burnt, it assaults. You wriggle your nose, hold your breath, circulate your car fan and press on the gas pedal to get away, pass the unpleasantness. From my El Paso home, five miles west, I can see the gray tunnels like circus tent stakes holding up a cherry pie sky, Mount Cristo Rey cloudy in the distance, the giant stone Jesus with arms flung open.

Read the rest of Hope Fires in the Desert.