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Behind The Story: Author Talk with Reyna Grande

A CCPL Virtual Author Speaker Series Program

2026-07-16 14:00:00 2026-07-16 15:00:00 America/New_York Behind The Story: Author Talk with Reyna Grande Virtual -

Thursday, July 16
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Add to Calendar 2026-07-16 14:00:00 2026-07-16 15:00:00 America/New_York Behind The Story: Author Talk with Reyna Grande Join us and author Reyna Grande to discuss the hidden cost of the American dream and healing through storytelling! Virtual -

Join us and author Reyna Grande to discuss the hidden cost of the American dream and healing through storytelling!

Author Reyna Grande -- Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can't Forget

In her ambitious new memoir, Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget, beloved bestselling author Reyna Grande illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival.

What is the true power of stories? Can they heal the jagged edges of a traumatic childhood? Is the cost of telling the story worth the price of the cure?

With her signature blend of sophistication and raw honesty, Grande interrogates how living between two nations, two languages, and two identities has shaped the woman, mother, and writer she has become. Moving from the legacy of violence in her hometown of Iguala, Mexico, to a bittersweet family vacation in Europe spent reconciling her own impoverished past with her children’s world of abundance, she uncovers startling truths about the nature of survival.

Whether being racially profiled in the Arizona borderlands or finding unexpected wisdom from the slugs in her garden, Grande unflinchingly asks: How do we bridge the gap between who we were and who we have become? How do we turn pain into power? When memory threatens to define us, how can we use story to heal while still honoring our boundaries?

Register today for this virtual talk if you identify as a seeker, a dreamer, or “anyone who believes in the enduring, transformative power of finding one’s voice.”

About the Author: Reyna Grande is an award-winning author, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. As a young girl, she crossed the US–Mexico border to join her family in Los Angeles, a harrowing journey chronicled in The Distance Between Us, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other books include the novels A Ballad of Love and Glory, Across a Hundred Mountains, and Dancing with Butterflies, the memoirs Migrant Heart, The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition, and A Dream Called Home, and the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings. She lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and two children. Visit ReynaGrande.com for more information.

To view a recording of this event or to see the full archive of Behind the Story events, click here. Scroll to search for the event you are looking for.


The views expressed by presenters are their own, and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Charles County Public Library.

Charles County Public Library events are accessible for all. If you have an accessibility request, please contact programs@ccplonline.org three business days prior to the event.

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Thu, Jul 16, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Join us and author Reyna Grande to discuss the hidden cost of the American dream and healing through storytelling!
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Mon, Jul 27, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
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