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A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century
"No matter your politics or home country this will change how you think about the movement of people between poor and rich countries...one of the best books on immigration written in a generation." --Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted
The definitive chronicle of our new age of global migration, told through the multi-generational saga of a Filipino family, by a veteran New York Times reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.
When Jason DeParle moved into the Manila slums with Tita Comodas and her family three decades ago, he never imagined his reporting on them would span three generations and turn into the defining chronicle of a new age--the age of global migration. In a monumental book that gives new meaning to "immersion journalism," DeParle paints an intimate portrait of an unforgettable family as they endure years of sacrifice and separation, willing themselves out of shantytown poverty into a new global middle class. At the heart of the story is Tita's daughter, Rosalie. Beating the odds, she struggles through nursing school and works her way across the Middle East until a Texas hospital fulfills her dreams with a job offer in the States.
Migration is changing the world--reordering politics, economics, and cultures across the globe. With nearly 45 million immigrants in the United States, few issues are as polarizing. But if the politics of immigration is broken, immigration itself--tens of millions of people gathered from every corner of the globe--remains an underappreciated American success. Expertly combining the personal and panoramic, DeParle presents a family saga and a global phenomenon. Restarting her life in Galveston, Rosalie brings her reluctant husband and three young children with whom she has rarely lived. They must learn to become a family, even as they learn a new country. Ordinary and extraordinary at once, their journey is a twenty-first-century classic, rendered in gripping detail.
The definitive chronicle of our new age of global migration, told through the multi-generational saga of a Filipino family, by a veteran New York Times reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.
When Jason DeParle moved into the Manila slums with Tita Comodas and her family three decades ago, he never imagined his reporting on them would span three generations and turn into the defining chronicle of a new age--the age of global migration. In a monumental book that gives new meaning to "immersion journalism," DeParle paints an intimate portrait of an unforgettable family as they endure years of sacrifice and separation, willing themselves out of shantytown poverty into a new global middle class. At the heart of the story is Tita's daughter, Rosalie. Beating the odds, she struggles through nursing school and works her way across the Middle East until a Texas hospital fulfills her dreams with a job offer in the States.
Migration is changing the world--reordering politics, economics, and cultures across the globe. With nearly 45 million immigrants in the United States, few issues are as polarizing. But if the politics of immigration is broken, immigration itself--tens of millions of people gathered from every corner of the globe--remains an underappreciated American success. Expertly combining the personal and panoramic, DeParle presents a family saga and a global phenomenon. Restarting her life in Galveston, Rosalie brings her reluctant husband and three young children with whom she has rarely lived. They must learn to become a family, even as they learn a new country. Ordinary and extraordinary at once, their journey is a twenty-first-century classic, rendered in gripping detail.
382 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2019
256 people are currently reading
4482 people want to read
About the author
Jason DeParle
9 books31 followersJason DeParle is a senior writer at The New York Times and a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine. A graduate of Duke University, DeParle won a George Polk Award in 1999 for his reporting on the welfare system and was a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Nancy-Ann, and their two sons.
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September 1, 2021
As a young reporter in 1987 DeParle moved in with a Philippine family living in a shack without a toilet or running water. He spent eight months there absorbing family life in an abysmal slum outside Manila. He notes the exceptionally close ties among a large extended family. Family members slept on the floor together and when a baby was born the mother had it on the same floor. Twenty years later, as a seasoned New York Times reporter, DeParle returns to follow the now adult children around the world as they become members of the Philippines biggest export, cheap labor. He follows them for the next twelve years focusing on one in particular, Rosalie, as she moves to Saudi Arabia, then Abu Dhabi and finally to the U.S. and raises a family of her own.
We witness the dramatic changes between the generations DeParle encounters. The first, Rosalie’s parents, moved to the shanty town from the countryside to find jobs in the city. Rosalie’s mother got work in a factory. Her father went to Saudi Arabia where he could make enough to send money home to educate his children. The second generation who received education in Manila parlayed their skills into jobs overseas, many low-level such as nannies and maids, and many subject to exploitation. But Rosalie, a hard worker, was able to finish nursing school in the Philippines and learn a basic amount of English. Working through agencies she got a job as a nurse in Saudi Arabia where she became part of a large Filipino community of laborers of all sorts. While the pay was low by most standards, it was far beyond what she could earn in the Philippines. Like the other Offshore Filipino Workers (OFWs) she sent remittances home. Offshoring Filipino labor is a government strategy to relieve local unemployment and boost the economy. While DeParle’s narrative is mostly a personal saga, he does describe the significant international economic impact of offshore workers.
Rosalie chose nursing because of the offshore opportunity. Nursing shortages are common to many countries including the U. S. She took her first job at a Saudi hospital in 1996, stayed a couple of years, sent money home, and returned to find how little the Philippines could offer her. She returned to Saudi Arabia where she met her husband, a Filipino who worked in a pipe factory. In 2003 she had her first child soon followed by two more. In 2004 she moved to Abu Dhabi for a better job where she worked the next eight years. She was often separated from her husband and children who were raised by her mother, sister and other family members in the now upgraded home with a toilet and running water thanks to her remittances. DeParle records Rosalie’s emotional reactions as she coped with a Skype relationship with her children being raised by her sister and parents, a kind but unassertive husband who often is unemployed, and the demands of her relatives who consider her rich.
In 2012 Rosalie moved to Galveston Texas to work at the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital. Adjusting to life in Galveston was harder than the Middle East because she was no longer part of a large Filipino community of overseas workers. The hospital employed only a few Filipino nurses. She did have the comfort of bringing her husband and children with her but she and the children had been separated so much that they had to learn to live together as a family as well as to live in their new country. Rosalie’s English needed improvement, but her performance as a nurse was excellent. She was experienced and compassionate. Her supervisors were thrilled to have her. Her patients liked her. Interestingly, she found patients responded to her better when she told them her name was Sally.
Rosalie and her family were now completely immersed in a foreign culture for the first time. With pictures of Rockefeller Plaza from the movies in their minds, their initial reaction to Galveston was disappointment. Her husband had difficulty finding a job and the kids had to adjust to a very different school system and classmates. How this third generation of the family adopted American culture is a large part of DeParle’s story and the most heartwarming. The initial years were tough but these children were resilient and eventually found their place, made good friends and did well in school. By the end of the book when Rosalie took her family back to visit her parents and siblings in 2016, her children could no longer speak their native Tagalog. Rosalie’s mother commented that her youngest grandchild spoke English with an American accent.
Rosalie and her family found their home in the U. S. as so many immigrants have before them. Perhaps the most impressive thing was seeing how each generation built a foundation for the next. While many times offshore work just leads to heartbreak, Rosalie’s family shows that it can work for everyone’s benefit. This is a very personal story with broad implications in a time of increasing migration. It is a rewarding and educational read well worth the time it takes.
We witness the dramatic changes between the generations DeParle encounters. The first, Rosalie’s parents, moved to the shanty town from the countryside to find jobs in the city. Rosalie’s mother got work in a factory. Her father went to Saudi Arabia where he could make enough to send money home to educate his children. The second generation who received education in Manila parlayed their skills into jobs overseas, many low-level such as nannies and maids, and many subject to exploitation. But Rosalie, a hard worker, was able to finish nursing school in the Philippines and learn a basic amount of English. Working through agencies she got a job as a nurse in Saudi Arabia where she became part of a large Filipino community of laborers of all sorts. While the pay was low by most standards, it was far beyond what she could earn in the Philippines. Like the other Offshore Filipino Workers (OFWs) she sent remittances home. Offshoring Filipino labor is a government strategy to relieve local unemployment and boost the economy. While DeParle’s narrative is mostly a personal saga, he does describe the significant international economic impact of offshore workers.
Rosalie chose nursing because of the offshore opportunity. Nursing shortages are common to many countries including the U. S. She took her first job at a Saudi hospital in 1996, stayed a couple of years, sent money home, and returned to find how little the Philippines could offer her. She returned to Saudi Arabia where she met her husband, a Filipino who worked in a pipe factory. In 2003 she had her first child soon followed by two more. In 2004 she moved to Abu Dhabi for a better job where she worked the next eight years. She was often separated from her husband and children who were raised by her mother, sister and other family members in the now upgraded home with a toilet and running water thanks to her remittances. DeParle records Rosalie’s emotional reactions as she coped with a Skype relationship with her children being raised by her sister and parents, a kind but unassertive husband who often is unemployed, and the demands of her relatives who consider her rich.
In 2012 Rosalie moved to Galveston Texas to work at the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital. Adjusting to life in Galveston was harder than the Middle East because she was no longer part of a large Filipino community of overseas workers. The hospital employed only a few Filipino nurses. She did have the comfort of bringing her husband and children with her but she and the children had been separated so much that they had to learn to live together as a family as well as to live in their new country. Rosalie’s English needed improvement, but her performance as a nurse was excellent. She was experienced and compassionate. Her supervisors were thrilled to have her. Her patients liked her. Interestingly, she found patients responded to her better when she told them her name was Sally.
Rosalie and her family were now completely immersed in a foreign culture for the first time. With pictures of Rockefeller Plaza from the movies in their minds, their initial reaction to Galveston was disappointment. Her husband had difficulty finding a job and the kids had to adjust to a very different school system and classmates. How this third generation of the family adopted American culture is a large part of DeParle’s story and the most heartwarming. The initial years were tough but these children were resilient and eventually found their place, made good friends and did well in school. By the end of the book when Rosalie took her family back to visit her parents and siblings in 2016, her children could no longer speak their native Tagalog. Rosalie’s mother commented that her youngest grandchild spoke English with an American accent.
Rosalie and her family found their home in the U. S. as so many immigrants have before them. Perhaps the most impressive thing was seeing how each generation built a foundation for the next. While many times offshore work just leads to heartbreak, Rosalie’s family shows that it can work for everyone’s benefit. This is a very personal story with broad implications in a time of increasing migration. It is a rewarding and educational read well worth the time it takes.
September 25, 2021
5 ☆ an engrossing and nuanced examination of a hot-button issue
We've had immigration to the United States before we ever united to form a country. Yet the subject of immigration can still elicit strong emotional and political reactions (which extend back to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the first prohibition solely by race). These reactions tend to wax and wane with where we are in the macroeconomic cycle.
But migration flows are influenced by global demographic and economic trends. It may have taken 125 years for the world's population to increase from 1 to 2 billion, but subsequent billions were added at much faster rates. This dynamic pace of population gains led to equally rapid escalation in the mass movement of people seeking economic opportunities. Since 1960, the number of people leaving their countries to try their luck have more than tripled from 76 million to 258 million.
This worldwide phenomenon of migration is enabled by many prosperous nations, which have sought workers for positions shunned by natives due to their lack of skills or the perceived job's lowly status. Many European countries have had immigrants from their former colonial holdings fill jobs. With their surfeit of oil wealth supporting natives who mostly don't work, Persian Gulf nations have counted upon Asian migrants to fill the void.
The Philippines, in particular, has aimed to be the world's go-to source. New York Times writer DeParle gives "embedded reporter" a whole new level of meaning. Curious about global poverty in the mid-1980s, DeParle lived for a year with Filipina Tita Comodas' family in the Leveriza shantytown in the capital city of Manila. Since then, he's been an invested, not an arm's length, chronicler with a ringside view of global migration. DeParle infused the statistics with human dimensions by interweaving the very real-life motivations, challenges, successes and failures of Tita's family.
The Philippines' government has institutionalized the export of its work-ready citizens ever since corrupt President Ferdinand Marcos realized that it would solve several of his economic problems. Motivated by his child's medical expenses, Emet (Tita's husband) was one of the first in the clan to migrate for work in the Middle East. The next generation followed because the domestic job options had not improved. After training as a nurse (paid for by Emet's efforts), Rosalie worked in the Middle East, even though Rosalie harbored a lifelong dream of living in the US. It took years, but at age 41, Rosalie realized her ambition with a job offer from a hospital in Galveston, Texas. College-educated and with two decades of nursing experience, Rosalie moved to Texas in 2012 before her husband and three children followed six months later.
DeParle cited many economic and other academic studies to present the myriad issues and consequences of immigration. He illustrated them with personal stories of struggle and success. One of Tita's relatives lost a leg from an injury while working for a luxury cruise company. While recuperating from his amputation, he alternately fretted about losing his wife's love and sought legal help to receive medical coverage from his employer. As Filipinos worked overseas, many parents left their own offspring behind with relatives. At one point, Rosalie's three children lived at 3 different addresses and she had to learn how to parent once the 5 family members finally shared a roof in a new country. Interesting too, how her child's teacher's remark that "she's Americanized" was more a lament than a compliment. Assimilation in action.
DeParle concluded his book with some caveats:
I'm interested in global development, in both the economic and sociological aspects. I truly enjoyed this book for its subject matter, the personal stories DeParle included, and his writing style. DeParle managed to adopt just the right note between being an observer and his own personal involvement. Highly recommended.
We've had immigration to the United States before we ever united to form a country. Yet the subject of immigration can still elicit strong emotional and political reactions (which extend back to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the first prohibition solely by race). These reactions tend to wax and wane with where we are in the macroeconomic cycle.
Immigration changed the way Americans eat and the way they pray. It powered the rise of Silicon Valley and redrew the electoral map. It bred cosmopolitanism. It bred resentment. It widened class divides between the affluent, who are most likely to benefit from immigration, and the less privileged, who are more likely to bear the costs. It made America more vibrant, but less united, wealthier but less equal, more creative but more volatile. Shockingly, the demographic upheaval brought Barack Obama. More shockingly, it brought Donald Trump.
But migration flows are influenced by global demographic and economic trends. It may have taken 125 years for the world's population to increase from 1 to 2 billion, but subsequent billions were added at much faster rates. This dynamic pace of population gains led to equally rapid escalation in the mass movement of people seeking economic opportunities. Since 1960, the number of people leaving their countries to try their luck have more than tripled from 76 million to 258 million.
Migration is the world's largest antipoverty program, a homegrown version of foreign aid. ... remittances - the sums migrants sent home - are three times the foreign aid budgets combined.
This worldwide phenomenon of migration is enabled by many prosperous nations, which have sought workers for positions shunned by natives due to their lack of skills or the perceived job's lowly status. Many European countries have had immigrants from their former colonial holdings fill jobs. With their surfeit of oil wealth supporting natives who mostly don't work, Persian Gulf nations have counted upon Asian migrants to fill the void.
The Philippines, in particular, has aimed to be the world's go-to source. New York Times writer DeParle gives "embedded reporter" a whole new level of meaning. Curious about global poverty in the mid-1980s, DeParle lived for a year with Filipina Tita Comodas' family in the Leveriza shantytown in the capital city of Manila. Since then, he's been an invested, not an arm's length, chronicler with a ringside view of global migration. DeParle infused the statistics with human dimensions by interweaving the very real-life motivations, challenges, successes and failures of Tita's family.
The Philippines' government has institutionalized the export of its work-ready citizens ever since corrupt President Ferdinand Marcos realized that it would solve several of his economic problems. Motivated by his child's medical expenses, Emet (Tita's husband) was one of the first in the clan to migrate for work in the Middle East. The next generation followed because the domestic job options had not improved. After training as a nurse (paid for by Emet's efforts), Rosalie worked in the Middle East, even though Rosalie harbored a lifelong dream of living in the US. It took years, but at age 41, Rosalie realized her ambition with a job offer from a hospital in Galveston, Texas. College-educated and with two decades of nursing experience, Rosalie moved to Texas in 2012 before her husband and three children followed six months later.
DeParle cited many economic and other academic studies to present the myriad issues and consequences of immigration. He illustrated them with personal stories of struggle and success. One of Tita's relatives lost a leg from an injury while working for a luxury cruise company. While recuperating from his amputation, he alternately fretted about losing his wife's love and sought legal help to receive medical coverage from his employer. As Filipinos worked overseas, many parents left their own offspring behind with relatives. At one point, Rosalie's three children lived at 3 different addresses and she had to learn how to parent once the 5 family members finally shared a roof in a new country. Interesting too, how her child's teacher's remark that "she's Americanized" was more a lament than a compliment. Assimilation in action.
DeParle concluded his book with some caveats:
Immigration is generally good for America. But that doesn't mean that it's good at every level and in all varieties. There's a place for principled compromise. What is essential is that America welcome those who are here and remain receptive to the gifts others can bring, whether they come with distinguished degrees or callused hands.
I'm interested in global development, in both the economic and sociological aspects. I truly enjoyed this book for its subject matter, the personal stories DeParle included, and his writing style. DeParle managed to adopt just the right note between being an observer and his own personal involvement. Highly recommended.
December 13, 2019
Very good book. Here's the review to read: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/bo... Author DeParle has been following this Filipino family for over 30 years! Don't miss the sweet photo from 1987, when he started all this. Filipinos are some of the superstars in the global migrant economy, and their remittances home do a lot to aid development and reduce poverty. Many, many billions of dollars every year, dwarfing foreign aid and far more effective. (I should have kept notes, but didn't, dammit.) You'll enjoy reading the story of this extended Filipino clan, especially Rosalie and her family, who, after many false starts, emigrate to Galveston, Texas where she was offered a nursing job. It's an amazing story: she and her family won the jackpot. But poor people all over the world are eager to try their luck to better their lives, and many succeed -- enriching their families, their old homes and their new home countries. Not that there aren't ups and downs -- and some tragedies. He doesn't sugar-coat things. Good reporting and good research. High marks.
December 30, 2019
5 Stars!
I had to give 5 Stars to this story beautifully written by journalist, Jason DeParle.
SUMMARY
This true story follows a Filipino family through three generations; chronicling their eventual move from the slums of Manila to a solidly middle class Texas neighborhood. It tells the story of people from emerging nations or third world nations who leave their spouses and/or children at home while working abroad in order to support their families. Many countries have very limited economic opportunities combined a comparatively low cost of living making this option a viable choice. This book explores the effects of this lifestyle on three generations of a family.
WHAT I LOVED
The premise of this book; a study on the economic, social, emotional and psychological impact of separating the breadwinner from their family to work abroad; could be fascinating if written well or it horribly boring if not. Luckily, it was done extremely well. Author, Jason DeParle, made the book more than just facts, he made it a heart felt story about a family. Don't misunderstand, the book was very well researched, and I do feel educated on the subject but it was so much more than that.
Some parts of the book are surprising, even a little shocking for middle class American and other parts show the day to day details of life, making it more relatable.
I love how honest he was about the family members; their faults and strengths, their triumphs and let downs. If he had made them shiny heroes who never had moments of doubt, the story would not have had this level of credibility. Instead, he portrayed them as real people who missed their children, who often felt lost, who got tired and who left dirty dishes in the sink.
One of the moments that got to me the most was when DeParle talked about how Rosalie and Chris has to relearn how to be parents. They had been picturing a reunited family but had not imagined how difficult it would be for everyone to adjust. Their oldest daughter, Kristine, had been particularly close to the aunt who had raised her and the transition was tough on her as well. They were imperfect yet kept going because they knew being apart from their family was the only way to take care of their family's financial needs. I have extreme respect for this family for being brave enough to start over in a new country, caring for their family in such a selfless manner and for allowing a journalist to follow their family for thirty years.
I have had a few friends whose nannies are taking care of American children in order to support their own children back home. They have talked of how much they miss their children but that this is the only way they can make sure their children are provided for. It’s an impossible choice. When Donald Trump talks about all the “dangerous” immigrants, crossing the border to commit crimes in the U.S., all I can think about is these families who have given up everything to try to make a decent life for their children. That’s the end of my political soap box speech. I won’t mention any of it again.
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE
I have to admit, it did make me feel like an over privileged, ungrateful brat. I need to appreciate my middle class life and the fact the I never had to make that kind of choice. I guess that's not a comment on the readability of the book but more about the likeability of me.
OVERALL
Such a well written, sensitive book about a difficult set of choices. It's an educational and fascinating glimpse into a timely issue with immigration being on the forefront of the news. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in the current immigration crisis or wondered how people could leave their family to work abroad.
I had to give 5 Stars to this story beautifully written by journalist, Jason DeParle.
SUMMARY
This true story follows a Filipino family through three generations; chronicling their eventual move from the slums of Manila to a solidly middle class Texas neighborhood. It tells the story of people from emerging nations or third world nations who leave their spouses and/or children at home while working abroad in order to support their families. Many countries have very limited economic opportunities combined a comparatively low cost of living making this option a viable choice. This book explores the effects of this lifestyle on three generations of a family.
WHAT I LOVED
The premise of this book; a study on the economic, social, emotional and psychological impact of separating the breadwinner from their family to work abroad; could be fascinating if written well or it horribly boring if not. Luckily, it was done extremely well. Author, Jason DeParle, made the book more than just facts, he made it a heart felt story about a family. Don't misunderstand, the book was very well researched, and I do feel educated on the subject but it was so much more than that.
Some parts of the book are surprising, even a little shocking for middle class American and other parts show the day to day details of life, making it more relatable.
I love how honest he was about the family members; their faults and strengths, their triumphs and let downs. If he had made them shiny heroes who never had moments of doubt, the story would not have had this level of credibility. Instead, he portrayed them as real people who missed their children, who often felt lost, who got tired and who left dirty dishes in the sink.
One of the moments that got to me the most was when DeParle talked about how Rosalie and Chris has to relearn how to be parents. They had been picturing a reunited family but had not imagined how difficult it would be for everyone to adjust. Their oldest daughter, Kristine, had been particularly close to the aunt who had raised her and the transition was tough on her as well. They were imperfect yet kept going because they knew being apart from their family was the only way to take care of their family's financial needs. I have extreme respect for this family for being brave enough to start over in a new country, caring for their family in such a selfless manner and for allowing a journalist to follow their family for thirty years.
I have had a few friends whose nannies are taking care of American children in order to support their own children back home. They have talked of how much they miss their children but that this is the only way they can make sure their children are provided for. It’s an impossible choice. When Donald Trump talks about all the “dangerous” immigrants, crossing the border to commit crimes in the U.S., all I can think about is these families who have given up everything to try to make a decent life for their children. That’s the end of my political soap box speech. I won’t mention any of it again.
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE
I have to admit, it did make me feel like an over privileged, ungrateful brat. I need to appreciate my middle class life and the fact the I never had to make that kind of choice. I guess that's not a comment on the readability of the book but more about the likeability of me.
OVERALL
Such a well written, sensitive book about a difficult set of choices. It's an educational and fascinating glimpse into a timely issue with immigration being on the forefront of the news. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in the current immigration crisis or wondered how people could leave their family to work abroad.
July 13, 2020
Thoughts soon.
September 1, 2019
Mostly I want to know why, as of this writing, this book only has three ratings. Yes, the book only officially came out last week, but we’ve all seen books with dozens if not hundreds of ratings before the official pub date. “A Good Provider” is as entertaining as it is incisive, and by all rights it should become an important contribution to the debate about immigration. If it somehow doesn’t make the splash it richly deserves, I’m going to be personally ticked off.
September 25, 2019
Migration is conundrum of this century. We need to understand the economics fueling it along with the need for people to live is a save environment, for people wanting to go where they can make a better life for themselves. This book follows a family from the ghetto of Manila as they carve out a better life for themselves and for their family - immediate and extended.
It is a book for gains and losses, but all real. I am glad I read it, I now understand some of the issues confronted by those who leave to provide and the emotional highs and lows for all.
It is a book for gains and losses, but all real. I am glad I read it, I now understand some of the issues confronted by those who leave to provide and the emotional highs and lows for all.
September 20, 2021
This is a book about economic migration which the author calls the world’s largest and most successful anti-poverty program. The title of the book expresses the sentiment of millions of families in countries with no real opportunities where they live. They see their hope in a family member who will “take a chance” and go abroad to work. The result is (p. 6) an estimated “258 million migrants are scattered across the globe and they support a population back home as big or bigger”, meaning a ½ billion people are dependent on this system that returns to the home counties three times the total spent by developed countries on foreign aid.
Most of the issues covered are those regarding legal immigration, although it is impossible to discuss this without comparison to its illegal counterpart.
The Philippine government began promoting the export of guest workers under Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970’s and since that time both the country and the individual families have become dependent on the money foreign workers send back home. Saudi Arabia is a large host country. Unlike the US, there is no allowance for family visits, no path to citizenship and no legal protections. Other large employers are cruise ships where multiple legal jurisdictions result in little support for the crew. For most of the economic migrants, the US and Germany are destinations of choice.
While discussing the global issues with research, data and commentary, Author Jason DeParle shows how policies play out through 3 generations of a Filipino family. The extended Portagana family has been lifted from living in shacks to having homes with floors, furniture and toilets. Its children have been educated and its adults have had life extended through medical care. The migrant lives a lonely life abroad often in horrible working and living conditions, lucky to visit home every two years. There is risk, the migrant may not be paid, may go to the country to find no job or go home to children who do not recognize their parent.
You follow Emet, the patriarch who cleaned pools in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Signapore and the US; Rosalie who pursued her dream of being a nurse in the US; Tess a nany in Dubai and US and later receptionist in Dubai; and Manu who lost a leg while working on a cruise ship and others. DeParle shows how the issues they face such as exploitative employers, uncertain contracts, visa regulations, loneliness, relatives expecting more and more largess and missing milestones in their children lives are universal among this mobile work force.
Once these workers were almost all male; currently, with the demand for nurses and domestic workers it is now predominantly female. Studies of how guest workers fare in their new country show mixed results. For instance, highly skilled and highly paid professionals and their children fare well in migrating to the US, but those with low skills and low earnings, most likely working long hours and living in rough neighborhoods face greater difficulties and some return to their home country. In most cases in the US, children of these workers who attend US schools, despite having English as a second language, do better than their US peers with the same demographics. This may be the result of having two parents with a strong work ethic.
This is an excellent overview for defining the guest worker issues and demonstrating them through the varied experiences (in both positions and countries) of one family. Highly recommended for those interested in this topic.
Most of the issues covered are those regarding legal immigration, although it is impossible to discuss this without comparison to its illegal counterpart.
The Philippine government began promoting the export of guest workers under Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970’s and since that time both the country and the individual families have become dependent on the money foreign workers send back home. Saudi Arabia is a large host country. Unlike the US, there is no allowance for family visits, no path to citizenship and no legal protections. Other large employers are cruise ships where multiple legal jurisdictions result in little support for the crew. For most of the economic migrants, the US and Germany are destinations of choice.
While discussing the global issues with research, data and commentary, Author Jason DeParle shows how policies play out through 3 generations of a Filipino family. The extended Portagana family has been lifted from living in shacks to having homes with floors, furniture and toilets. Its children have been educated and its adults have had life extended through medical care. The migrant lives a lonely life abroad often in horrible working and living conditions, lucky to visit home every two years. There is risk, the migrant may not be paid, may go to the country to find no job or go home to children who do not recognize their parent.
You follow Emet, the patriarch who cleaned pools in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Signapore and the US; Rosalie who pursued her dream of being a nurse in the US; Tess a nany in Dubai and US and later receptionist in Dubai; and Manu who lost a leg while working on a cruise ship and others. DeParle shows how the issues they face such as exploitative employers, uncertain contracts, visa regulations, loneliness, relatives expecting more and more largess and missing milestones in their children lives are universal among this mobile work force.
Once these workers were almost all male; currently, with the demand for nurses and domestic workers it is now predominantly female. Studies of how guest workers fare in their new country show mixed results. For instance, highly skilled and highly paid professionals and their children fare well in migrating to the US, but those with low skills and low earnings, most likely working long hours and living in rough neighborhoods face greater difficulties and some return to their home country. In most cases in the US, children of these workers who attend US schools, despite having English as a second language, do better than their US peers with the same demographics. This may be the result of having two parents with a strong work ethic.
This is an excellent overview for defining the guest worker issues and demonstrating them through the varied experiences (in both positions and countries) of one family. Highly recommended for those interested in this topic.
March 17, 2022
This is Nonfiction/Social justice about the plight of immigrants trying to provide for their families. I liked the distinction the author placed on the double standard of men vs. women. Why fathers/husbands are praised for leaving their families to make money in another a country but there is no praise, only disdain and judgement, when a mother/wife does it, (especially if she is making more than the husband).
The families represented in this book certainly learned valuable lessons from the school of hard knocks as they migrated to and from bigger paychecks. That was sad to read about. Money management classes would certainly have been helpful as well how to spot a shark when you see one. I also liked the way the author showed the bond of family ties. The workers often accrued excess debt to buy cars, houses, plane tickets, etc. for the family members left behind.
All in all, this was a solid 4 stars.
The families represented in this book certainly learned valuable lessons from the school of hard knocks as they migrated to and from bigger paychecks. That was sad to read about. Money management classes would certainly have been helpful as well how to spot a shark when you see one. I also liked the way the author showed the bond of family ties. The workers often accrued excess debt to buy cars, houses, plane tickets, etc. for the family members left behind.
All in all, this was a solid 4 stars.
May 21, 2025
To quote one back cover review, "This is epic reporting, nonfiction on a whole other level." DeParle followed one Filipino family's migration story, from the slums to the UAE to Galveston Texas, across a staggering 30 years and three generations. As the author was writing this book, I myself was working under a Filipino chef who dreamed of a distant and improbable reunion with with his wife who was hoping for a visa. A tall, quiet man who wore cheeriness like it was part of his work uniform, he spoke impeccable English and worked hard to please the demanding college students he fed. Alas, his culinary creativity was usually lost on a population of Anglo homeschoolers who joined the centuries old tradition of complaining about cafeteria food.
DeParle's analysis challenges simplistic immigration narratives from both the right and left and brings the conversation back to the real subject hidden by all the debate - human beings. I'd consider this book indispensable for anyone in ministry (a moment to complicate everyone's narrative is when the white humanist contemplates conversion to Christianity due to the witness of a brown family who celebrate Easter in a processional over the trash mountains of the slums). But if I'm honest, I wish every American would read it.
DeParle's analysis challenges simplistic immigration narratives from both the right and left and brings the conversation back to the real subject hidden by all the debate - human beings. I'd consider this book indispensable for anyone in ministry (a moment to complicate everyone's narrative is when the white humanist contemplates conversion to Christianity due to the witness of a brown family who celebrate Easter in a processional over the trash mountains of the slums). But if I'm honest, I wish every American would read it.
January 1, 2020
DeParle spent 30 years with one Filipino extended family as various family members made difficult decisions to leave spouses and children behind and travel to Riyadh, Dubai, Europe and eventually Galveston, Texas to try to provide a better life for their families. The deep embedded relationships he establishes with family members over the years allows him to understand, and present to the reader, in more depth than most journalists can (in an almost anthropological sense), the intense impacts of individual decisions.
DeParle does an excellent job of weaving the inter generational stories of the Portaganas family with the larger systemic issues that have driven global migration over the last thirty years. How much of these decisions to migrate are really individual choices, and how much are forced by systemic violence? DeParle traces the history of the Philippines and its past ties to Spain and the US to explain how Marcos helped create a system where Filipino universities' nursing curriculums are aligned with the US so that they have intentionally become a major exporter of nurses to the US. The Philippines are the third largest recipients of remittances, behind only China and India - and their government seems to have built a deliberate economic plan on exporting their people to work elsewhere and send money home. When I asked my daughter, who works in a hospital in LA about their staff and talked to her about the book, she said "OHhhhh that explains why we have so many Filipino nurses - sooo many."
This is an excellent book if you want to understand the big picture behind global migration - what decisions are being made by governments - both receiving and sending - that are creating this greatly increasing migration. Yes, individuals are making choices to leave; but individual choices are being driven by larger economic forces. All of the Portaganas' immigrations are legal, but they are still very difficult; the paperwork and approvals taking in some cases decades, the culture shock overwhelming, the time away from children - watching grandparents raise your children and your children become more attached to your parents than to you - heartbreaking. Even when families are reunited the migrate together the stresses and strains as grandparents and friends are left behind, as children assimilate more quickly than parents, as roles flip and parents become dependent on children to navigate systems or husbands become economically dependent on wives - the choices are difficult ones indeed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a better understanding of global migration today - why they leave? Why they don't? Why should we care? Why we are desperately dependent on increased migration and how we actively both recruit immigrants on the one hand and repel them with the other.
DeParle does an excellent job of weaving the inter generational stories of the Portaganas family with the larger systemic issues that have driven global migration over the last thirty years. How much of these decisions to migrate are really individual choices, and how much are forced by systemic violence? DeParle traces the history of the Philippines and its past ties to Spain and the US to explain how Marcos helped create a system where Filipino universities' nursing curriculums are aligned with the US so that they have intentionally become a major exporter of nurses to the US. The Philippines are the third largest recipients of remittances, behind only China and India - and their government seems to have built a deliberate economic plan on exporting their people to work elsewhere and send money home. When I asked my daughter, who works in a hospital in LA about their staff and talked to her about the book, she said "OHhhhh that explains why we have so many Filipino nurses - sooo many."
This is an excellent book if you want to understand the big picture behind global migration - what decisions are being made by governments - both receiving and sending - that are creating this greatly increasing migration. Yes, individuals are making choices to leave; but individual choices are being driven by larger economic forces. All of the Portaganas' immigrations are legal, but they are still very difficult; the paperwork and approvals taking in some cases decades, the culture shock overwhelming, the time away from children - watching grandparents raise your children and your children become more attached to your parents than to you - heartbreaking. Even when families are reunited the migrate together the stresses and strains as grandparents and friends are left behind, as children assimilate more quickly than parents, as roles flip and parents become dependent on children to navigate systems or husbands become economically dependent on wives - the choices are difficult ones indeed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a better understanding of global migration today - why they leave? Why they don't? Why should we care? Why we are desperately dependent on increased migration and how we actively both recruit immigrants on the one hand and repel them with the other.
September 24, 2019
I first heard about this book in a review in the Boston Globe. I asked the Leominster Public Library to get it. They did. Hélène read it first. I've just finished it.This a book that I highly recommend. It is frightening ...jolting...mesmerizing...thought provoking....any other descriptive terms you may wish to use. We are all immigrants ...some more than others. The tales he writes of is not fiction. It's eye-balling truthful...there are times when you need to reread what you have just read. The author is very current...almost to the point at times when you have difficulty separating what you have read in the book versus what you just read in the newspaper or heard on radio or seen on T.V. If you don't read any other book this year...make sure you read this one. To do not is to put yourself at the perils of ignorance and deceit. Ignorance because you will not know what is happening to you and yours....deceit because you have willfully denied your public need of knowing by implying that it doesn't pertain to you. You do so at your peril. RJH
July 28, 2020
This is an enlightening and convincing argument, although I had the occasional quibble here--primarily, sometimes DeParle seems to buy into a deserving/undeserving poor immigrant distinction in what seems to me an unhelpfully judgmental way. But I did like his openness from the start about his methods and his relationship to the Filipino family he focuses on (he doesn't pretend to be absent). And I had a lot to learn from the story of them that he tells, although I found it most effective where he connects it to larger issues surrounding migration, with background history, statistics and relevant academic arguments, which fortunately he does frequently. And he is trying to persuade by giving some credit to the opposition: acknowledging that some questioning of immigration is purely racist, he entertains the idea that, because of America's class politics and structure, immigration benefits some more than others--although here the caring nurse Rosalie who is the main protagonist, who cares for poor Texans, is a powerful example in support of his pro-immigration case.
April 10, 2020
I enjoyed the beginning and the end of this more than the middle section, which seemed to drag a little for me. I found the style overall to be pretty engaging, watching a family over 3 generations go from a hovel to comparative American riches. It really put a face on the modern immigrant and served as an effective way to discuss past and current immigration policies. This is not the story of the crisis immigrant, who is fleeing to escape death, but the one we normally think of, who is escaping poverty for the American Dream. The example of the Philippines as a leader in global immigration and foreign labor was interesting; I didn't realize how dependent their economy is on sending their laborers, mostly skilled, out all over the world. The numerous ways these people are taken advantage of or abused in search of a better life puts into perspective their tenacity and hard work.
December 29, 2019
This book approaches the issue of immigration through the lens of a single family, alternating between the story of the Villanuevas and history of immigration more broadly. I learned a lot about the economic impacts of immigration and found the story extremely eye opening. It covers everything, from Rosalie's struggle to get a visa to a relative's work accident to her children's difficulties as English language learners in the Galveston school district. The author doesn't really present policy solutions, and I'd be curious as to what he thinks about that, but I think the idea is to make readers understand just how difficult even legal immigration is, and how dehumanizing current immigration discourse can be.
December 4, 2019
Wow - I thought this was phenomenal. I'm a Global Development junkie and read this four days. I loved how Jason weaved in current events and the history of migration into the story of Rosalie and her family. The entire book is an incredible achievement and an amazing work of research and reporting. Importantly, you can tell that Jason has strong ethics and values and was transparent in discussing how the book came to be. Thank you, thank you. Would recommend to anyone interested in current events / non-fiction / international politics / globalization / humans (!).
September 11, 2019
I hope more people read this book. Fascinating perspective on immigration; journalistic but also full of feeling.
My favorite quote, "It's common for social theorists to celebrate 'agency,' the ability of poor people to shape their fate. Does anyone exercise more agency than a migrant who refuses to accept as fate the random geography of their birth?"
Sling that one at your racist uncle across the dining table this Thanksgiving. Damn.
My favorite quote, "It's common for social theorists to celebrate 'agency,' the ability of poor people to shape their fate. Does anyone exercise more agency than a migrant who refuses to accept as fate the random geography of their birth?"
Sling that one at your racist uncle across the dining table this Thanksgiving. Damn.
October 8, 2019
This book floored me. In today's discourse immigration is often discussed as a one off event. Or a few weeks or months of hardship, to then reached the proverbial promised land of the USA. By following one woman, and her extended family, DeParle paints an vibrant picture of a whole family (a whole country actually) that has worked for decades to better their family. Very rarely will you read such a humanizing and educational book.
October 30, 2019
Deeply researched, beautifully written. The author has a wonderful way of encapsulating a character in a few deft, delicious words. Rosalie’s tween daughter was “born to shop“. Her brother is “a go getter from central casting.”
His discussion of the liberalization of immigration law in 1965 is especially interesting. Evidently no one thought that liberalizing the law would lead to massive immigration from Asia. But it did.
His discussion of the liberalization of immigration law in 1965 is especially interesting. Evidently no one thought that liberalizing the law would lead to massive immigration from Asia. But it did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2019
An excellent, engaging look at immigration/migration focusing on one extended Filipino family. The family's story is moving and inspiring and DeParle's commentary and knowledge of the policy and history of migration is informative and clear.
January 18, 2020
This is a journalistic feat. DeParle details his methods, but that offering still feels inadequate to explain fully how he captured this story that feels universal to the smallest details. DeParle’s narrative is up there with Mia Alvar’s in capturing Filipino experience and culture.
January 23, 2020
A story of one family of immigrants from the Philippines. The family ends up in the Middle East en route to America and DeParle follows their journey to assimilate to America and he infuses the story with a sprinkling of stats and facts about immigration.
September 7, 2025
Jason DeParle is an American journalist whose 2019 book A Good Provider is One Who Leaves profiles an extended Filipino family he's known for decades as a microcosm of economic migration. DeParle first met a married couple named Tita and Emet Comodas in the Philippines, though Emet worked for much of his life in the Middle East, sending most of his earnings back to the Philippines to support his immediate and extended family. The pattern continued with the next generation, with Tita and Emet's daughter Rosalie Comodas Villanueva, who was supported through nursing school by Emet and her extended family's earnings, and who then became the "good provider [who left]" for better paying work in the Middle East and eventually the United States, supporting not only herself, her husband, and their growing young family but also the extended family back in the Philippines. Many members of the extended Comodas family also left the Philippines for long-term overseas jobs (a trend that's very common in the Philippines overall), leaving their kids to be raised by extended families back home, leading to complicated family dynamics. DeParle follows the Comodas-Villanueva family as Rosalie finally secures US residency, moving the family to Galveston, Texas (near Houston, on the Gulf Coast), where for the first time, Rosalie, her husband Chris, and their three kids live under the same roof. Their transition to life in the US is bumpy, especially as her husband adjusts to being the trailing spouse, and her oldest daughter Kristine deals with separation from her aunt Rowena in the Philippines who largely raised her in Rosalie's absence.
This was a very interesting, provocative read. DeParle clearly has a lot of genuine affection for, and investment in, the Comodas-Villaneuva family, and at times he and his connections intervened to help the family in navigating language barriers, immigration and legal issues, and even medical issues. Though he does a good job of portraying the family's strengths as well as flaws, his deep relationships with the family inevitably colors his portrayal, and thus his views on economic migration overall. At the same time, practically everyone's views of economic migration are probably at least partially colored by their own experiences.
Further reading:
The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony by Annabelle Tometich | my review - a memoir by the first generation American daughter of a Filipina nurse
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott - a story about race and generational poverty in the US, reported in a similar way
My statistics:
Book 278 for 2025
Book 2204 cumulatively
This was a very interesting, provocative read. DeParle clearly has a lot of genuine affection for, and investment in, the Comodas-Villaneuva family, and at times he and his connections intervened to help the family in navigating language barriers, immigration and legal issues, and even medical issues. Though he does a good job of portraying the family's strengths as well as flaws, his deep relationships with the family inevitably colors his portrayal, and thus his views on economic migration overall. At the same time, practically everyone's views of economic migration are probably at least partially colored by their own experiences.
Further reading:
The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony by Annabelle Tometich | my review - a memoir by the first generation American daughter of a Filipina nurse
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott - a story about race and generational poverty in the US, reported in a similar way
My statistics:
Book 278 for 2025
Book 2204 cumulatively
January 15, 2022
i think it took me so long to read this book because i didn't want it to be over. as a filipino immigrant myself, so many of the book's points hit home and were great starting points for self-reflection. i feel like the author did a wonderful job of capturing the struggles and triumphs that people who come to america face.
February 1, 2023
DeParle is just so good at finding a family that illustrates issues that he wants to study, and then writing an engaging and edifying treatment of those issues. He has a way of making the reader care as much about the family as they do about the larger topic, and making the larger topic understandable by illustrating it with the family. Highly recommended.
December 15, 2020
4.5*
Part biography, part history textbook. This provides an interesting insight to the Filipino migration story. I appreciated that the family at the central of its story were comfortable enough to expose the darker side of the culture. I couldn't help but root for them in the end. Everyone deserves a good turn in life.
The main thing jarring was whenever the author would spell out when someone would say "Ate" like, Ate vs Kuya. He'd write it as "Ah-tay". As a native speaker it ends up disrupting the reading flow; like wtf is ahtay...
Part biography, part history textbook. This provides an interesting insight to the Filipino migration story. I appreciated that the family at the central of its story were comfortable enough to expose the darker side of the culture. I couldn't help but root for them in the end. Everyone deserves a good turn in life.
The main thing jarring was whenever the author would spell out when someone would say "Ate" like, Ate vs Kuya. He'd write it as "Ah-tay". As a native speaker it ends up disrupting the reading flow; like wtf is ahtay...
June 24, 2020
Extremely well-reported book about a Filipino migrant family that uses their experience to illuminate the history and current state of global migration, particularly in the context of the legally sanctioned systems and their (sometimes unintended but sometimes very intentional) effect on the global economy. A fascination and timely story taught me a lot.
April 24, 2023
Perhaps the best book on immigration that I have read. From 2006 to 2010 we lived in Dubai where 40 percent of our local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints congregation was Filipino. We learned that the Philippines is one of the major global exporters of workers such as nannies, nurses, clerks, managers, accountants, and engineers. Our friends were in Dubai under a variety of circumstances, some had their families and enjoyed a middle class lifestyle, others were there without their families and worked long hours to send as much money home as possible. Many Filipinos were abused by their employers and the Filipino consulate was often grappling with large numbers of cheated and abused workers, especially women. The Government of the Philippines actively promotes the export of labor for the remittances that workers send home and to counter local unemployment and underemployment. The Philippines' economic development has fallen far behind its Asian neighbors, leaving many who struggle to support their families.
Through the lens of a single family over a period of 30 years, DeParle masterfully describes the economic pressures that prompt so many Filipino fathers and mothers to leave their families for years at a time. He intersperses his story telling with a discussion of the policies that have shaped U.S. immigration policy over the past 150 years.
Through the lens of a single family over a period of 30 years, DeParle masterfully describes the economic pressures that prompt so many Filipino fathers and mothers to leave their families for years at a time. He intersperses his story telling with a discussion of the policies that have shaped U.S. immigration policy over the past 150 years.
December 9, 2019
Years ago, Jason DeParle spent some time with a Filipino family living in a shantytown. He kept in touch with the family - and over the years almost all of their numerous kids went abroad to work. This book primarily looks at one part of their family - the part that came to the US. The purpose is to examine one family to study modern day immigration overall. He's clearly rooting for the immigrant family - and it's hard not to. They're trying to make the best of it. The wife/mother is a nurse, and her husband has a harder time of it. DeParle notes how there's frequently a backlash in the family or community when the wife gets more financial authority. The kids acculturate fairly well, and DeParle argues that modern day technology has helped it happen more rapidly.
It gets off to a slow start as we spend a while on the family's background or on sojourners to the Arabian peninsula (which is where most of the family went). There are some surprising stats, such as 7% of all kids born in the US today are the kids of undocumented workers.
It gets off to a slow start as we spend a while on the family's background or on sojourners to the Arabian peninsula (which is where most of the family went). There are some surprising stats, such as 7% of all kids born in the US today are the kids of undocumented workers.
March 29, 2020
This is quite the feat of non-fiction writing: the author, a NY Times reporter, follows a Filipino family for 30 years to trace the family’s inevitable involvement in migration and immigration. Because the Marcos regime so deeply destroyed the economy of the Philippines, the best (only?) way to earn money for your family is by working overseas and sending remittances home.
The author traces the first generation going to the UAE to the third generation legally immigrating to the United States. He interweaves statistics, history, and background to how and why immigration has become such a contentious policy point in Western Europe and the United States. It’s a complex argument but certainly notable is tracing the GOP’s slide towards racism from a presidential candidate giving a stump speech in Spanish (GW Bush) to a presidential candidate calling Mexicans rapists (Trump). I learned a lot.
The author traces the first generation going to the UAE to the third generation legally immigrating to the United States. He interweaves statistics, history, and background to how and why immigration has become such a contentious policy point in Western Europe and the United States. It’s a complex argument but certainly notable is tracing the GOP’s slide towards racism from a presidential candidate giving a stump speech in Spanish (GW Bush) to a presidential candidate calling Mexicans rapists (Trump). I learned a lot.
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