Chicago Mosaic: Immigrant Stories of Objects Kept, Lost, or Left Behind

Co-editor with Amy Tyson, Big Shoulders Books (2023)

A sword, a grandmother’s shawl, a Rolex watch, a cow-shaped cream pitcher, a 2008 gold Toyota Corolla. The stories of these objects—and others—are told within this volume. They are the stories of objects left, lost, or kept. Together, they compose a mosaic of Chicago immigration.  

Like a mosaic, the individual items in these stories might seem unrelated, but taken together, connection and complexity emerge. Chicago is made, to a large extent, of the stark regrets and hopes of immigrants. Some of the objects in this volume represent difficult memories of family left behind; others point to the possibility of prosperity for future generations.