Barefoot Heart: Stories of a Migrant Child

Barefoot Heart is a vividly told autobiographical account of the life of a child growing up in a family of migrant farm workers. It brings to life the day-to-day existence of people facing the obstacles of working in the fields and raising a family in an environment that is frequently hostile to those who have little education and speak another language. It is also the story of how, despite hunger, cold, illness, and constant discrimination, a determined family never abandoned its commitments to one another and to bettering life through hard work and the pursuit of education.

“. . . a beautifully written debut from a writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly

"The style of Elva Treviño Hart's Barefoot Heart is spare and elegant, and her story is deeply moving. I am a teacher, and I always recognize the light of intellectual passion. Stories like Elva's must be told." —Jill Ker Conway, author of When Memory Speaks and Written by Herself

"This is a beautiful book, one many of us teaching Latino/a memoir and autobiography have long been waiting for. It is here at last, dear reader, in your hands. To be read and reread, savored to the last word. I extend a heartfelt welcome to the author and her beautiful book." —Virgil Suárez, author of Havana Thursdays and Going Under

". . . a powerful, personal story, a journey from poverty to professional success, which reminds us of both the gross inequities and extraordinary opportunities in our nation." —Daniel Rothenberg author of With These Hands: The Hidden World of Migrant Farmworkers Today