When You Get to the Other Side

By: Mariana Osorio Gumá, Cecilia Weddell - translator

Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal, Johnny Rey Diaz

A spellbinding novel about crossing natural and supernatural borders

Emilia and Gregorio spent their childhood following their grandmother through the mountains of central México, gathering the ingredients she used for curandera work and learning about the supernatural world. When she passes away, the siblings are left alone. So they scrape together their money and pay coyotes to smuggle them to their father in the United States.

The siblings are exhausted before they even reach the border, where the coyotes seize Emilia for their own harsh ends. As brother and sister fight to find each other again, battling the parching desert and the ruthless criminals who haunt it, they draw strength from their profound bond and the insights into nature they gleaned from their grandmother. If Emilia and Gregorio can survive their journey, what awaits them on the other side?

This masterful novel, first published in México, pushes beyond stereotypes to honor not only the dangers immigrants withstand, but also the far-reaching knowledge and roots they carry. When You Get to the Other Side is a powerful, poignant look at the nature of borders, what it means to cross them, and the changes people undergo when they travel between two worlds.

©2019, 2022 Mariana Osorio Gumá English translation ©2022 by Cecilia Weddell (P)2023 Recorded Books