Mona Passage

By Thomas Bardenwerper

Book Overview

Mona Passage is the story of two neighbors in San Juan, Puerto Rico: Galán Betances, a Cuban emigrant, and Pat McAllister, a young Coast Guard officer. During long evenings spent together talking on their Calle Luna rooftop, a deep friendship develops based on shared traumas and a common desire to heal. When Galán learns that his sister, Gabriela, is going to be committed to a mental health facility in Cuba, he plans her escape to Puerto Rico. Pat, whose Coast Guard cutter patrols the Mona Passage for drug traffickers and migrants, warns Galán that such a journey will be treacherous--perhaps fatal. Aware of the dangers but determined for Gabriela to live a full life, Galán hands over all the money he has to a Dominican smuggler based out of a San Juan nightclub, and Gabriela begins her terrifying journey. Knowing that his cutter may be all that separates Galán and Gabriela--and haunted by the human suffering he has witnessed at sea--Pat must decide. Will he remain true to his oath, as his older brother had done in Iraq? Or will he risk his own future--and perhaps his freedom--for his closest friend? On a moonless night, two armed vessels converge in the Mona Passage, and three lives change forever.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815611390
• ISBN13: 9780815611394
• Release Date: December 2021
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Length: 298 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 9.3" x 12.8"

Customer Reviews

An intense story of immigration and borders

Mona Passage is about two neighbors in San Juan, Puerto Rico who strike up a good friendship. Galan Betances is a Cuban immigrant whose sister and mother were left behind in Cuba when he and his father sailed on a rickety raft to Florida. Pat McAllister is an officer in the Coast Guard, trusted with catching drug traffickers and intercepting migrants before they reach the shores of Puerto Rico. When Galan's mother dies, he learns that his sister, who is mentally handicapped, is going to be sent to a mental health facility in Cuba. He learns that his only option to bring her to the US is by paying some unsavory criminals to smuggle her in by boat from the Dominican Republic. Pat wants Galan to reunite with his sister but faces a conflict between helping his friend and meeting his professional obligations. I learned a lot about the arduous and dangerous journey migrants and refugees make to reach American shores and how desperate they must be to take such risks. I appreciated seeing border enforcement through the eyes of a Coast Guard officer. Members of the Coast Guard are put in some very distressing situations in terms of the human anguish they witness and how they must repeatedly put duty before compassion. Mona Passage provides a window into the complex immigration issue, so relevant right now. A good debut from a veteran Coast Guard officer.