Falmouth Reads Together 2025:
Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago—“one day, you’ll
take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.”

Javier Zamora’s adventure is a 3,000-mile journey from his small town in
El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border.
He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a
mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling
alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.

A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and
intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey,
but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most
unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story
of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.

“I read Solito with my heart in my throat and did not burst into tears until the last sentence. What a person, what a writer, what a book.”—Emma Straub

Request a copy of Solito today via CLAMS 

Events related to this year’s Town Read!

Thank you for reading Solito and attending events! Watch this page for details about the 2026 selection! 

In the meantime, check out Miriam Davidson’s What’s Next for the Border  slide show and a recorded version of her talk (the first few minutes are not included due to a glitch) on YouTube.