America Is Not the Heart Summary
Elaine Castillo

America Is Not the Heart Overview

Elaine Castillo’s America Is Not the Heart is a multi-generational origin story about identity, family, and memory that explores the Filipino-American immigrant experience. The novel follows the healing process of its complex heroine, aptly nicknamed Hero, who arrives in California in the 1990s broken in body and spirit after a 10-year stint in a communist guerilla rebel group and two years of imprisonment in the Philippines. She gradually experiences healing, love, and finds new purpose amongst a community of family and friends brought together by shared languages, food, and customs.