A personal treatise from distinguished social scientist Sandro Galea on the indelible effects of being as an immigrant—and what it means for the greater good.
“I am one of the lucky ones,” writes Sandro Galea. Galea left home in Malta at fourteen with his parents and sister as the island was rocked by political turmoil. The family made their way to Canada and he, in turn, eventually made his way to the United States. This is the story of his long, surreal journey of forging a life in a series of new and unfamiliar places.
With spare and deeply affecting prose, Alien is a poignant exploration of what it means to build a life across borders—and why it’s important for all of us. Galea’s intimate and personal story frames the experience of being an immigrant in terms of its indelible lessons on adaptation, identity, belonging, and shared generosity. Galea also captures at once the joys and the uncertainties that define the process of uprooting one life to begin another abroad. His is a reflection on empathy, on precarity, and on the effect of immigrating, in which one becomes keenly aware of how quickly life—and the world—can change.
Blending philosophical inquiry and personal story, Alien bridges the gap between storytelling and scholarship and, in doing so, gifts us an essential aperture on the world not everyone experiences—and the value of having those who do.
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Reviews
“Keeping the broader immigrant experience in view while acknowledging his own privileges, Galea’s dual perspective is its own humility—the sense that any single story sits within a bigger one. In doing so, Alien explores the ways that immigration reveals how societies distribute risk, dignity, and care.”—Dr. Céline Gounder, physician, epidemiologist, and medical journalist at CBS News and KFF Health News
“As a fellow physician, public health practitioner and immigrant, I recognized so much in these pages. Sandro Galea brings both lived experience and deep expertise to illuminate how the conditions surrounding immigration shape health, dignity and belonging. This is a thoughtful, important book that not only deepens understanding, but compels urgent action.”—Leana S. Wen, contributing columnist, Washington Post; author of Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health
“Sandro Galea offers a powerful and deeply human reflection on what it means to live across borders. Blending personal narrative with sharp public health insight, Alien illuminates the lived experience of migration with empathy, clarity, and intellectual depth. At a time when migration shapes our global health and social realities, this book is both timely and essential—an invitation to better understand belonging, resilience, and our shared humanity.”—Dr. Santino Severoni,
