Growing up in middle-class India, Rajika Bhandari has seen generations of her family look westward, where an American education means status and success. But she resists the lure of America because those who left never return—they all become flies trapped in honey in a land of opportunity. As a young woman, however, she finds herself heading to a US university to study, following her heart and a relationship.
When that relationship ends and she fails in her attempt to move back to India as a foreign-educated woman, she returns to the US and finds herself in a job where the personal is political and professional: she is immersed in the lives of international students who come to America from over 200 countries, the universities that attract them, and the tangled web of immigration that a student must navigate.
An unflinching and insightful narrative that explores the global appeal of a Made in America education that is a bridge to America’s successful past and to its future, America Calling is both a deeply personal story of Bhandari’s search for her place and voice, and an incisive analysis of America’s relationship with the rest of the world through the most powerful tool of diplomacy: education. At a time of growing nationalism, a turning inward, and fear of the “other,” America Calling is ultimately a call to action to keep America’s borders—and minds—open.
Industry Reviews
2022 IPPY Awards Bronze Winner in Creative Non-Fiction
2021 Sarton Book Award Finalist in Memoir
2021 Foreword Indie Finalist in Autobiography & Memoir
"An Indian woman's wonderfully written, illuminating account . . . a
valuable study of an extremely important area of ‘soft diplomacy,’
dispelling all sorts of easy and false assumptions. Bhandari’s
informative memoir is for readers who want to understand how
interconnected the world really is. Bhandari is a very talented writer,
knowing that in a sea of data there is no better life raft than the
telling anecdote."
-Kirkus Reviews
“In America Calling, Rajika Bhandari captures the confusion and
wonder of the international student experience of the sort she, I, and
many others have shared. Sometimes funny, often moving, and always
thought-provoking, Dr. Bhandari's is a memorable story and an enjoyable
read.”
—Shashi Tharoor, Indian political leader, former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, and best-selling author of India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond
“In adding her voice to the immigrant experience, Rajika reminds us that
everyone has a story to tell and that everyone’s story counts. It is
books like this that make America a kinder and wiser nation. Highly
recommended for high schools and colleges.”
—Firoozeh Dumas, New York Times best-selling author of Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America
“Rajika Bhandari is a voice that urges us with moral clarity and
rigorous intelligence to embrace immigrants. . . This book tells a
personal story, and a wider one too; it is a clarion call for the
nation’s policymakers and educators to welcome all curious minds.”
—Maeve Higgins, New York Times columnist, award-winning author of Maeve in America: Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else, host of the Maeve in America: Immigration IRL podcast, and cohost of the StarTalk podcast
“[F]ar more than a singular memoir of one Indian student's experience,
but a wider-ranging embrace of the various social, cultural, political,
and educational challenges that all readers should know. . . . Anyone
who has wondered about the modern immigrant experience and perceptions
of coming to this nation to fulfill dreams will find America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility a lesson in adaptation, advantage, and revised futures.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Rajika Bhandari offers a roadmap to the many who have come, and the
many who will be drawn, to America in search of educational and other
life-affirming professional opportunities. It is deeply personal and yet
fully illustrative of the many shared experiences of generations that
continue to enrich a nation built by and for immigrants.”
—Raju Narisetti, founder of Mint newspaper and former managing editor at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal
“Through this intimate account of her own journey, Rajika Bhandari tells
the story of the millions of young people who pursue the dream of an
American education, the price they pay, the irreversible transformation
they undergo, and the often misunderstood and underappreciated yet
immense social and economic value they bring about. While she grew up in
Delhi and I in Madrid, her story is, in many ways, mine too.”
—Angel Cabrera, president of Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and a Carnegie Corporation “Great Immigrant”
“Seeking a
