Facing escalating chaos and violence in their home countries, many Central American mothers have found that a desperate flight to the north was their only choice. Many left their children behind in order to spare them the hardships of the journey. This book centers on the voices of the women themselves, offering an intimate look at what drove them from home and the challenges they face in reuniting years later with their children. Forced Out traces the women's evolving attitudes toward the violence embedded in institutions and everyday life in their home countries, as well as their continued vulnerability and dependence in the US. It also highlights the challenges they face in parenting children who are adapting to American society and learning English while living with mothers who had left them years before and has become strangers to them. The stories reveal the women's rich, complex inner lives, their resilience in overcoming senseless violence, and their unswerving commitment to bettering their children's lives. Clear, vivid, and impactful, this is a humbling and humane look at the state of migration to American today.