This is the nineteenth edition of JTPL Stories: a series of interviews with library patrons, staff, and partners. Continue below to meet the faces of JTPL with our Outreach Coordinator, Aliya! Click Here to read the entire series.
Lillian Rose starts off her new book with an author’s note: “I never set out to write a book,” she says. “I set out to listen.”
In 2001, Lillian started working with immigrants in Southern Indiana under a temporary position with a local Catholic priest. She was on leave between one of her many international assignments with USAID, and she was surprised to find immigrants from Central and South America in need of help right here at home.
She writes: “I was blind to the broader struggles of immigrants, unaware of the obstacles faced by newcomers to our country and state. But soon, their stories would intertwine with mine, drawing me into their fight, their fears, and the unrelenting realities of their journeys.”
In that church and in the immigrants she listened to, Lillian soon found purpose. “It was just God’s design,” she told me. Today, she’s worked with immigrants in Jeffersonville and Clarksville for nearly twenty-five years. She works primarily with immigration paperwork and legal advice.
Although she no longer works through a church, Lillian’s book is titled after a nickname she earned among her immigrant clients: “The Church Lady.”
On September 26, Lillian is visiting JTPL to talk about her new book, “The Church Lady’s Diary.” It retells some of her own journey interwoven with the stories of dozens of immigrants she has helped over the years. From Josue and Maria Andrea who endured 20 years, a kidnapping, and international train-hopping to reunite in Indiana, to Tomas who came to Lillian’s office for legal advice and years later ended up becoming an integral part of her legal team.
When I visited Lillian at her non-profit, Hispanic Connection of Southern Indiana, I asked her about the motivation behind her book.
“We need to understand,” she told me, ”that immigrant’s stories are our ancestors’ stories… We’ve had immigrants the whole time, this is just another wave. But we’re all immigrants in America. We all come from somewhere. Our great-great grandparents were from somewhere.”
“I was hoping that a lot of people would read [my book] and they’d become more aware. When they went to vote I hoped they would vote for those people who are going to make changes, positive changes for immigrants.”
Although Lillian, at 85 years old, is gradually retiring from her work at Hispanic Connection, she continues to work as an activist in the community. At the time I interviewed her, she was planning to speak at a local protest in Warder Park against the Clark County ICE facility nearby.
Her book is a part of her activism, but she doesn’t use it to argue for specific politicians or policy changes. Instead, Lillian believes it is most important for people to get to know the real stories of immigrants rather than what we might hear on TV or in political debates. “We are losing community,” she writes. “We are forgetting our humanity and in the long run, will lose our nation. We need to humanize immigrants… not dehumanize them.”
That makes her book especially impactful here in Clark County, where she and many of the immigrants in her stories still live.
Earlier this year, Lillian was admitted to the hospital for heart problems and had to cancel an event with JTPL. But it certainly hasn’t stopped her from continuing her activism and book promotion, and she is still going strong.
In addition to her activism work, Lillian plans to write at least one more book in her retirement. She remains optimistic that she will see the changes she wants to see in her community.
“This country is great because it shelters the needy, the disadvantaged, and those looking for a better life,” she says. “I’m very hopeful because we do have a compassionate population. Basically, we’re good people, you know? And we don’t want to see our neighbors hurt.”
But her work has taken a toll on her. Lillian told me she has been to the ER three times because of the stress of her job. Perhaps the hard work she admires in her clients has rubbed off on her. Lillian says her co-workers continue to encourage her to take a break.
Until then, you can still find Lillian throughout the week at Hispanic Connection and throughout the community promoting her book. She’ll be visiting JTPL’s Clarksville location on from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 26.
You can find Lillian’s book available for check out in our catalog or for purchase on Amazon. She will also be selling copies during her event at our Clarksville location on September 26!