Elizabeth Loza Newby is an educator and counselor. She has worked at the Latino Development Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and as the director of the Office of Latino Affairs for the State of Iowa. She is a graduate of Earlham College in Indiana and now lives with her husband near Cincinnati, Ohio.
What is your hope for how your new book might impact readers?
My hope is that readers may come to better understand the Hispanic migrant sub-culture in our society, and the perils they must endure. My story
is a true story about how through faith, the encouragement of teachers, and the hope that life will get better, one brown girl and woman survived these perils to become a part of the “melting pot” that is America.
At the very beginning of A Migrant with Hope you state that your life “is a simple story told in a simple way.” How does such a statement give importance and value to those who may feel themselves as a smaller story in this large world? How do the small moments make the largest difference?
It is only upon reflection that we can see the hand of God painting our personal landscape. When we are in the midst of the moment, it is difficult to discern why things are happening to us and what their value will be in the total sum of our lives. As I wrote A Migrant with Hope,
I was able to look back and see the importance of an encouraging word from a teacher, or a lesson from my mother that turned my life in a new direction. Simple things, and yet profound in their impact. We should never underestimate how our simple words and actions can influence a person or persons.