The Fruit of All My Grief

Starred review from July 22, 2019
Studs Terkel Prize–winning journalist Garcia (The Khaarijee) tells 11 stories about people harmed by corporations, judges, and governments, with deep empathy and incredible attention. Jamie and Gladys Scott served 16 years for a robbery they did not commit; Dickie Joe Jackson was incarcerated for life for hauling drugs to raise over $100,000 for his son’s medical treatment. Mexican roofer and father Sixto Paz sought sanctuary in a church after Homeland Security refused to renew the work permit he’d had for 25 years. The people of Greenbrier, Ark., find their health affected by fracking but have few economic options other than working for the gas companies. A veteran whose health was destroyed by toxic garbage “burn pits” in Iraq finds the VA is unwilling to take responsibility. Iraqi and Afghan translators residing in the U.S. on special visas because their work for the American military made them unsafe at home must do without practical support from the U.S. government. Garcia respectfully presents the realities his subjects are facing from their own perspectives, and he has a gift for polishing the story of a life until its heart shines through. This humane, urgent work will move readers.

July 15, 2019
Chronicling "the lives lurking beneath the surface of the everyday." Garcia (Riding Through Katrina With the Red Baron's Ghost: A Memoir of Friendship, Family and a Life Writing Stories, 2018, etc.) demonstrates his strong reporting skills and empathetic writing in this collection of pieces previously published in Guernica, McSweeney's, Oxford American, and the Virginia Quarterly Review, among other publications. The timeliest piece is about the persecution of undocumented immigrants that has ramped up significantly since the election of Donald Trump. In a brief news story, the author learned about Sixto Paz, a Mexican man forestalling deportation by living in a church that "offered sanctuary to undocumented migrants." Garcia traveled to Phoenix to meet Paz in person; as he has done so well in previous books, the author manages to extrapolate from this one individual's story greater truths about a large down-and-out population. Garcia helps readers understand how the daily struggles that define and change his real-life protagonists are relevant to them. At times, the author inserts himself into the narratives, showing readers how his research and reporting affects him. Garcia closes the book with a story on Reynaldo Leal, a U.S. military veteran who completed two tours of duty in Iraq and began to realize, years later, that "most of the country has allowed the war to fade from its consciousness." This piece is another in a long line of the author's impressive stories about military veterans, their traumatic nightmares, and their less-than-adequate treatment by government agencies. Garcia also frequently investigates the broken U.S. criminal justice system, evident here in "What Happens After Sixteen Years in Prison?" The book's subtitle rings true for each piece. One shortcoming: The anthology provides no value-added content, such as contextualizing sections or updates on the stories. Compassionate, memorable tales from a journalist who understands the significance of revealing the inner lives of marginalized individuals.

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