From Arrival to Return

The Sun is Also a Star

Natasha’s migration story traces how a child’s departure becomes a permanent sense of displacement, then a difficult return and gradual belonging.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Leaving Jamaica Leaving Jamaica from "The Sun is Also a Star". Departure Without Understanding A Child’s Journey Natasha leaves her relatives and friends for the United States without understanding that undocumented status…

Leaving Jamaica from "The Sun is Also a Star". Departure Without Understanding A Child’s Journey Natasha leaves her relatives and friends for the United States without understanding that undocumented status…

Departure Without Understanding A Child’s Journey Natasha leaves her relatives and friends for the United States without understanding that undocumented status may prevent her return. A New Home The reunion with Samuel feels joyful, and she believes she can adapt to anything.

American Childhood American Childhood from "The Sun is Also a Star". Belonging by Habit Growing Up Here Natasha attends school, forms friendships, and builds a future in the country she experiences as home.

American Childhood from "The Sun is Also a Star". Belonging by Habit Growing Up Here Natasha attends school, forms friendships, and builds a future in the country she experiences as home.

Belonging by Habit Growing Up Here Natasha attends school, forms friendships, and builds a future in the country she experiences as home. Hidden Vulnerability Her family’s visa overstay makes ordinary plans dependent on a legal status she cannot control.

Removal Becomes Real Removal Becomes Real from "The Sun is Also a Star". Home Under Threat Legal Failure The family’s removal case collapses after hearings and unsuccessful appeals.

Removal Becomes Real from "The Sun is Also a Star". Home Under Threat Legal Failure The family’s removal case collapses after hearings and unsuccessful appeals.

Home Under Threat Legal Failure The family’s removal case collapses after hearings and unsuccessful appeals. A Future Interrupted Natasha faces leaving school, friends, and the only home she remembers as her own.

Learning Jamaica Again Learning Jamaica Again from "The Sun is Also a Star". A Difficult Re-entry New School and Work In Kingston, Natasha enters a different school system and works to help her family financially.

Learning Jamaica Again from "The Sun is Also a Star". A Difficult Re-entry New School and Work In Kingston, Natasha enters a different school system and works to help her family financially.

A Difficult Re-entry New School and Work In Kingston, Natasha enters a different school system and works to help her family financially. Reclaimed Connection She adopts a Jamaican accent, finds friends, and gradually comes to love the country she once knew only as birthplace.

A Plane Changes the Future A Plane Changes the Future from "The Sun is Also a Star". The Journey Returns Unexpected Recognition Natasha and Daniel encounter Irene again on a plane, where memory reconnects their separate lives.

A Plane Changes the Future from "The Sun is Also a Star". The Journey Returns Unexpected Recognition Natasha and Daniel encounter Irene again on a plane, where memory reconnects their separate lives.

The Journey Returns Unexpected Recognition Natasha and Daniel encounter Irene again on a plane, where memory reconnects their separate lives. An Open Ending Their reunion makes a shared future imaginable without erasing the years each spent becoming an adult.

when Natasha is eight

the years after Natasha arrives in Brooklyn

the months before the deportation deadline

the months after Natasha returns

ten years after Natasha’s departure