Manuel Galvan is separated from his parents and sister during the mass expatriation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the 1930s. He grows from a small, lost and confused boy into a wandering and angry teenager pushed out of high school and into the dockyards. Later as a loyal, passionate husband he is a man searching for a life of value and dignity despite his losses. Set against the backdrop of (Mexican) American history in Los Angeles, forced deportations, the demolition of Chavez Ravine, sterilization of Latinas, student protests and rising political consciousness, this story spans his life, from 6 to 60, and his search for his missing family, the missing pieces of his life.

About Désirée Zamorano: Born and raised in Los Angeles Désirée Zamorano is the author of the highly acclaimed literary novel, The Amado Women. Her novel Human Cargo was Latinidad’s mystery pick of the year. She is a Pushcart prize nominee and award-winning short story writer. Her work is often an exploration of issues of invisibility, injustice, or inequity. A selection of her writing can be found in Catapult, Cultural Weekly, The Kenyon Review Online, and Akashic’ s South Central Noir. She teaches linguistic and cultural diversity at Cal State Long Beach.

About Naomi Hirahara: Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar® Award-winning author of the Officer Ellie Rush Mysteries, including Grave on Grand Avenue and Murder on Bamboo Lane (which received the T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award). Born and raised in Pasadena, Naomi received her bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University and studied at the Inter-University Center for Advanced Japanese Language Studies in Tokyo. She worked as a reporter and editor of The Rafu Shimpo in downtown Los Angeles. She is also the author of the Mas Arai Mysteries (including Summer of the Big Bachi, Gasa-Gasa Girl, and Snakeskin Shamisen) and the middle-grade novel 1001 Cranes, and has written, edited, and published several nonfiction books, largely about the Japanese American experience.