The Immigrant Advantage: What We Can Learn from Newcomers to America About Health, Happiness and Hope

Journalist Kolker investigates the imported traditions and attitudes toward health, hard work, and education that give newcomers an edge over the native-born. In a yearlong experiment, Kolker finds that the Vietnamese money club’s enforcement of savings through friendly peer pressure also works for her group of Texan friends, helping them save for taxes and vacations. She discovers how hanging out on the stoop or the corner in barrios fosters social bonds that might explain why some of the poorest immigrant communities have some of the best health outcomes—the so-called “immigrant paradox” researchers have puzzled over for decades. She test-drives a version of the Mexican cuarantena—a period of postchildbirth rest and companionship that may protect against postpartum depression—and she implements the demanding Korean approach to studying to help her daughter learn math. Other topics explored include Vietnamese monthly rice services that help students and working mothers get dinner on the table; Jamaican multigenerational living and its benefits for home ownership; and the South Asian assisted marriage, with its blend of old-school parental oversight and modern freedom of choice. Kolker’s explorations teach and entertain with their curiosity, can-do spirit, and vibrant bouquet of cultures and customs. (Nov.)