This literature course focuses on the experiences of first-generation immigrants. We will analyze narratives and study how people use them to metabolize new realities and create meaning in the face of loss, alienation, and the demands of cultural assimilation. What rituals of mourning are possible? How can new relationships help us heal and find our role in a new place? What does it mean to hold two places within ourselves, and still be our whole selves? Our readings will include fiction and nonfiction from such authors as Edwidge Danticat, Meron Hadero, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Jhumpa Lahiri, Susan Choi, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.