Late this afternoon I was at Eastwind Books of Berkeley because my books had arrived. I was in a fog as I held the book in my hands and then opened to the title page to sign the pre-ordered books. The book had some weight to it, which surprised me. The galleys, of course, were in paperback, and light in the hand, but I was still amazed by the book’s heft. Maybe I was just in a daze period. After 18 years, after a grueling eight-month editing/production process, after never imagining I would be in this position when 2015 arrived, and after feeling as if I was going to miss the 50th Anniversary of the Delano Grape Strike altogether, I am finally here.
![Out of the box.](http://www.pattyenrado.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Books-in-090315-Copy.jpg)
![Signing the pre-ordered books for good friends, and also the Ethnic Studies program at Oregon State University!](http://www.pattyenrado.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Preordered-books-signed-090315-Copy.jpg)