Let’s Reimagine, Together
Invite Aarti to your school community.
Aarti Shahani is no stranger to crisis. If you’ve heard her voice before, it’s probably on NPR. Aarti has spoken to millions of Americans as the Silicon Valley correspondent – “that Indian IT lady on the radio,” she jokes. In Here We Are, she reveals her astounding journey. Her family started off in a roach-infested tenement in Queens, New York, alongside other Asian, Latinx and African newcomers uprooted by colonialism. The Shahanis, like millions today, were undocumented. When their papers arrived, they thought it was a straight shot to the Dream. They were wrong. In Here We Are, Shahani combines masterful storytelling with award-winning journalistic prowess to take you on a wild coming-of-age journey. Stops include a ritzy Manhattan prep school, the notorious Rikers Island jail, the hallowed halls of Harvard, an international kidnapping, the September 11th terrorist attacks, the creation of I.C.E.
Aarti is eager to share her experiences with students — and remind them of how strong they are.
Do you want Aarti to speak to your high school, college or graduate program? She’d love to.
Email tour@aartishahani.com with the subject “school.” Include your contact and some details about the size, age(s) and location of your group. Let’s see what we can do together.
Read an excerpt: when Aarti met R.B.G.
Dear Students and Educators —
When I set out to write my family’s story, I was trying to put a lot of pain to rest. Courts, deportation, I.C.E. agents, a kidnapping — so many terrible things happened as a teenager. The memories wouldn’t go away. The harder I ran, the harder they chased me. They needed to be told.
After Here We Are was published, you helped me realize something else: the story is also about empowerment. How does power work, in the real world? How we can exercise power, even at a young age? In high school, I became my family lawyer. The youngest daughter in a traditional immigrant household, I worked the courts, the politicians and the media in a 14-year campaign to keep my dad in America. And (spoiler alert), we won.
DREAMers, #BlackLivesMatter and environmental activists, Student Government reps, artists, avid readers — you’ve written letters to me, sent messages on Instagram, shared your stories and goals. I’m so grateful that your generation is making moves, not waiting for permission. We need you to take on the world with daring and wisdom. You’ve got this.
With love and respect,
Aarti
What young readers are saying about Here We Are
Before reading Here We Are, I had tried to find ways to enact change. But this book made me realize I was doing things from a surface view. It impacted me to reevaluate myself, and the things I care about the most...The way Aarti wrote the book was incredible. I was reading in bed at 11:30pm and I would laugh a little too loudly, waking up my younger sister. When I got to the end of the book, in the morning, I felt tears pouring into the milk in my cereal. The way Aarti kept the language about immigration, the law, family, and equality so clear and engaging really hit me emotionally. I would recommend this book to all of the students at my school. — Sonia (age 16)
I really admire that Aarti was willing and able to take matters into her own hands, which was a good reminder for me that I can do the same when I face challenges in my life. The story definitely reaffirmed my sense of agency, especially as a young woman in society. — Maya (17)
My mom and I finished the book together. She found herself in tears. In her words, she has never seen the immigrant experience captured in such a moving way. I could not agree more. — Dave (21)
While sadly many families experience separation due to flaws in our law enforcement system, [it] is incredibly rare and impressive to see the youngest child effectively turn her outrage with the injustice into concrete action! The amazing letters Aarti wrote the judge and her willingness to do whatever she could to rescue her father from his unfair imprisonment was nothing short of spectacular. She is a role model for everyone…Also, Aarti is a very talented writer and storyteller. I found myself laughing, crying, and reflecting so many times as she shares her story of how her relationship with her family, herself, and America evolved. — Shreya (26)
Aarti asked Sonia, a high school student in San Francisco, if the memoir made her feel empowered. This is what she said.
The San Francisco Chronicle
(cover story)
That duality — Shahani’s abiding love for an adopted country’s inclusive ideals, and her scorn for those ideals being debased through policies that discriminate against immigrants and the poor — is at the heart of the provocative book she says she “ran away from writing for a number of years.”