The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea really opened my eyes to how a border crossing is. I clearly have no experience with anything remotely like that experience and Urrea’s ability to meld fact and fiction together allowed me to try to understand what these immigrants put themselves through and what they risk when they come to the U.S. in search for a better life.
One of the passages that struck me the most was about the progression of hyperthermia. Since I am considering being a doctor this passage interested me as well as helped me understand what these people are fighting in their own bodies as well as the desert. I am not a person who likes heat and this passage really confirmed how dangerous it could be. Heat stress and heat fatigue seem like you could get through them okay, but once you progress to heat syncope it seems almost inevitable to continue down this path unless you are rescued and soon. I wander what the walkers were thinking at the point when they hit heat syncope; many had started off as if this were just a walk in the park and now they are on a quick path to death.
I can’t imagine the determination that it would take to focus on continuing. One of the men, Maximino Hilario, that makes it out alive in the end lost his water jug earlier; how did he make it when many of the others didn’t? What did he do differently or was he just lucky to survive everything? When they put him in his bed he even looked “dapper,” did he have some sort of survive the heat and overcome thirst in the desert gene? This book is a testament to the difficulty of crossing the border and the desert, but also gives a look at mankind’s fight to survive in the worst of situations.
Just as a side note, as I was looking at literature about hyperthermia I found that is also being used as a treatment for cancer. I thought it was interesting that something that can bring death is being used to save lives.
The passage on hyperthermia struck a note with me too, but not because I want to be a doctor…but because I’m heading to the Sonoran desert myself in a week! Reading this book and thinking about my upcoming spring break made me think about the dichotomies between cultures/means, but also the strange way the desert draws us all in. I don’t quite know how to put it into words, but the fact is that these men struggled to survive in the desert ecosystem, Hilario, as you point out, loses his water but then still survives for days. It’s an awful situation to be in, but in some strange way, I’m awed by his perseverance and wonder about experiencing that myself. Perhaps that’s why I’m voluntarily hiking into the desert, where I too will have to ration my water (granted, I’m not crossing or near any borders; I’ll be in the Californian part of the Sonoran).
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the unique medical insight you bring into this post. That is something that I think the creative non-fiction genre is wonderful at, tying in multiple areas of expertise into one fascinating and educational narrative. And talk about a cool insight: that link about hyperthermia as a cancer cure is so intriguing.
The passage on hyperthermia struck me as well. It didn't strike me for either of the reasons you mentioned but it struck the emotional side of me. I have never experienced anything like this. However, this was the part in the book where I really began to feel for the people and what they were going through. I have had a somewhat hardened heart towards people coming to the states illegally. I do think that the states has too harsh of laws and is too strict on immigration laws. However, I am such a rule follower that I still have the hint of thought that it is still wrong. This book gives me a lot more respect and sympathy towards the situation. If people are choosing to go through this extreme situation because it will possibly give them a better life, how can we not want to help them? They are willing to die of heat, which sounds absolutely awful, to have a chance at a better life. Now, all I want to do is help those who are feeling so pressured and like there is no hope that they choose to go through the desert.
ReplyDeleteYes, the passage describing hyperthermia is eye-opening. Like Krista, this passage struck the emotional side of me most of all, though it was a powerful passage in a lot of different ways. I've experienced 110 degree weather before, but not without water - not lost in the desert for days and days. It is so incredible that these men found the will to go on in spite of their hopeless situation.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right, Lynn - I can't possibly imagine the determination it took to continue.
It is interesting to explore the power of a dream, one of beginning a new life. Hope is driving force.
Lynn, thanks for bringing your science perspective into the discussion. The hyperthermia cancer treatment link is fascinating. I agree with what Lewis says about Creative Nonfiction as a genre that can bring together so many different disciplines and perspectives into a coherent narrative--we've got to that the other Luis for that;-) I was impressed, too, with how real he made the desert-crossing situation feel to us readers.
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