VOA标准英语2010年-'Try to Remember' Explores Young Latin

Immigration attorney's debut¹ novel explores challenges and hidden problems of Colombian immigrant family

Faiza Elmasry | Washington, DC 22 July 2010

In her debut novel, "Try to Remember," poet Iris² Gomez explores the challenges young Latinas struggle with to stay loyal to their families, while becoming independent women in modern American society.

 In crafting her story, Gomez drew on her own experiences growing up in Miami, Florida, and on her career as an immigration attorney.

Grand Central Publishing
'Try to Remember' is a bi-cultural coming of age story.

"Try to Remember" is a bi-cultural coming of age story.

"Gabriella or Gabi is a teenager growing in Miami," says Gomez. "Her family feels that they have found the American Dream. They bought a house. They're working people. They're legal immigrants. They have the green cards. They are low-income people, but they feel like they've made it."

Caught between two worlds

Like Gabi, Gomez immigrated³ to Miami from Colombia as a child. She understands the contradiction many young immigrants have to contend with as they try balancing their family's traditional expectations for them with what they want for themselves.

"She's expected to stay home, not to go away to college or do anything that would betray the family's idea of what it is to be a good daughter," she explains. "But she does have aspirations⁴ and dreams that would take her outside of that world."

"Try to Remember" is set in Miami in the late 1960's, an era shaped by political and social changes, including new roles for women. But, Gomez says, many young Latina women are still not able to take advantage of those opportunities.

'Try to Remember,' author Iris Gomez

"As I've been going around the country talking about the book, I've been meeting young women who have approached me, other immigrant girls, who say, 'You know, we're still struggling with those same issues today," says Gomez. "We don't want to be rebels and betray our families, but we do want to leave home and do interesting and challenging things that maybe our families don't understand because they are still stuck in the old world a little bit.'"

Stigma⁵ of mental illness

In the novel, Gabi faces another dilemma⁶.

Her father loses his job and starts to lose his mind. Her overwhelmed mother pretends everything is normal, and the family refuses to face the problem.

Gomez explains that many Latino immigrant families see mental illness as a moral failure, a problem to be hidden.

"There are reports from the surgeon general that only one in 11 Latinos with a mental illness seek a specialist," she says. "So it's still a big problem in the society. In my book, they are afraid of the father losing his green card. So they try to protect him by keeping him busy at home. So they're hiding themselves also from the authorities and agencies that might actually help them."

Hopeful future

But Gomez ends "Try to Remember" on a positive note, as Gabi gains self-confidence, educates herself and finds the strength to become an independent young woman.

Gomez says that reflects her optimism about the future of the young immigrants who believe in the American dream.

"I'm coming in contact now with a lot of young immigrants and I find a lot of hope in their desire to continue to advocate for improvements and to not hide their issues or their concerns, but to participate in the society in a democratic way, whatever their legal status," she says. "I think that's a wonderful thing and it crosses all cultures. It shows me that there is something of the American dream that's still alive in these young people."

Iris Gomez says her goal as a poet - and now a novelist - is to help people overcome their fears and dream of a better future.

She says that's also what she has been working for more than 25 years to achieve, as an immigration advocate and attorney.
 

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

3 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

4 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

5 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

6 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。