num_pages: 174
description: Two people meet as baristas at a Marin County Starbucks in California. One, an immigrant from Germany, who became a citizen as a seven year old and lived her entire life in America; the other, a fresh refugee from Eritrea, who was granted asylum and had just found his first job in the U.S. The story begins when, struggling to understand him through his thick accent and limited vocabulary, she finally asked, "Where you from?"  Meeting once a week, over coffee at their local café’s, Robel spills his tales of danger, anxiety, prisons, shifty traffickers, hope, courage, and death. The quest for freedom fueled a story that journeys through 14 countries. The geography of which, spans half the globe, including the great Saharan Desert. What brought the storyteller and writer together? -The optimism of living in America and coffee. 
title: The River is the Border: From Eritrea to Freedom