I was delighted when the Newsweek My Turn editor wrote me a few weeks ago and told me they had chosen my essay about growing up as an illegal immigrant to run in a forthcoming edition. As part of the ramp-up for my forthcoming memoir,
Illegal: Growing Up Unwanted in America, the essay was a perfect opportunity to begin to share my story and would be my first nationally published piece of writing.
I held in the news as best I could. What if they killed it last minute? What if some other unforseeable horror happened? It would be easier to explain to a few close friends than to the entire universe.
This morning I ran to my local Borders (I was there a half hour before opening, so had to sit around at the News Cafe and pretend not to count the minutes) and it seemed like my worst fears were realized. No essay. I came home dejected, until my brother called and said, "Congratulations!"
"No, no congratulations. They didn't print it."
"What are you talking about? I'm looking at it."
"What?!?"
Yes, national emergencies of all national emergencies, it turns out sometimes bookstores don't put out their new magazines FIRST thing in the morning (we'll have to work on this as a country). I ran back out and got six copies.
Spread the word!
