Alien Nation

Alien Nation collects 36 true stories about immigration in the United States, told by people who first performed them on stage. They have been adapted for the page by Sofija Stefanovic, the host of the live show This Alien Nation, who also compiled and edited the book. The stories deal with migration, culture shock, family and everyday life, and they are by turns painful, funny and moving.

The storytellers include well-known names such as Sonia Manzano, Alexander Chee, Andre Aciman, Laura Gómez and Aparna Nancherla, alongside ordinary people from every corner of the world. Together they draw on both the past and the present of immigration. Some left their homelands in search of something new, a chance at opportunity, or simply survival. Others grew up in the new country speaking several languages and living between worlds.

The book is meant to be read like an evening at a live show, and the editor invites readers to picture themselves at Joe's Pub, a well-known New York City venue. It offers honest accounts of the experiences and inner thoughts of immigrants and the children of immigrants, and it presents immigration as a whole world of talent and potential rather than a single word, at a turbulent time for the subject.