Tough Love Tender Heart – Steven Verrier
When I began reading Tough Love Tender Heart, I immediately thought that this was going to be another version of the film Fools Rush In with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek. It starts out in a similar fashion, although Don, the protagonist of the book, lacks the successful career and suave personality that Matthew Perry’s character has in the film. However, although the start of the book was similar, if I thought the book was going to result in a ‘happily ever after’ story like the film, I was in for a surprise.
Unlike the Hollywood film, once Don is told that the woman he had a one night stand with in Venezuala is pregnant, and he agrees to marry her, things then start getting difficult. This story is set in 2003. It is post 9/11. It is a time in America where many people who try to enter the country are seen as suspicious and border controls are tighter than ever. When Ana tries to enter the USA as a tourist, with every intention of leaving after her permitted 3 months, she is subjected to a nightmarish day of questioning, accusations and claims. There is nothing Don can do to help. He is at the whim of his country’s laws and not matter how much he loves Ana and how much they may genuinely want to be together, the Department of Homeland Security see fit to send Ana back to Columbia in disgrace.
From this point, the novel grows darker. The simplicity of the story allows the underlying message to be clearly understood. That message is that the net of border security seems to consider people guilty without the chance of them proving themselves innocent, and in the effort to prevent the wrongdoers from entering the country, everyone has to suffer – even those trying to play by the rules.
The saddest thing is that despite the treatment that the author describes, thousands of illegal immigrants enter the USA every day. While a genuine person is being stopped, 20 wrongdoers are getting through. Of course, this is a difficult, if not impossible, situation to solve but the tragic ending of this book does indicate the despair which victims of the system can fall into. I can understand. Having been through the endless questions and forms and interviews and implications that I did when I got married and wanted to live with my husband in the UK, I know how intrusive it can be. Even when you know you have nothing to hide and you are doing absolutely nothing wrong, you can’t help but feel that every person questioning you is looking at you as a criminal.
The book is only short, and there were a few places where the action wasn’t really carrying the story forward, but I think that this is an important story to tell. Perhaps Don was a little too pathetic, however even I could feel the anger that this couple felt as their hopes for a future together as a family were destroyed one by one thanks to the inflexibility and pre-judgement of their respective countries. The final question is where do two people go if they want to be together, but they are from different countries and the countries won’t allow one or the other to pass their borders? Sadly, as Tough Love Tender Heart points out, the answer is nowhere, and the only result is disappointment, bitterness, anger and tragedy. This is not a happy tale.
ISBN: 978-1-897512-09-8
Publisher: Saga Books
Year: 2008
Date Finished: 18 December 2008
Pages: 156
