Accidental Immigrants and the Search for Home: Women, Cultural Identity, and Community

“Building parallels among diverse stories, Kelley presents the physical and emotional journeys of four ‘accidental immigrants.’ Now middle-aged, these four women reflect on leaving their home country because of life choices like education or relationships. Anthropologist Kelley tackles issues of home, belonging, adjustment, transnationalism, acculturation, and the experience of being foreign through the eyes of her informants…. Kelley’s subjects are introspective and intelligent, and she examines the complexities of each set of circumstances.” —Publishers Weekly

“A valuable contribution to the immigration debate, Accidental Immigrants and the Search for Home broadens the discourse about a humane immigration policy for uprooted family members neither seeking work nor separately documented.” —Mary Catherine Bateson, author of Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom

Carol E. Kelley is an anthropologist and former lawyer who has worked as a research consultant for universities and non-profit organizations.