When the search for your father turns into a treasure map

For Guerrero, the border is nothing more than a line scribbled in the dirt. Though she was born in San Diego, she sees herself as both "American" and "Mexican" -- a citizen of both countries. Yet, until she moved to Mexico at 22, she didn't speak Spanish, as she puts it, "beyond a child's capacity."

The lead role in this drama belongs to Marco Antonio Guerrero, Jean's Mexican-born father, a hard worker with big dreams that were beaten down by a flurry of punches -- bad choices, drug addiction, marital infidelity, mental illness. We all know someone like Marco -- stuck between wanting to be a good husband and father, and realizing that those things are not within our capacity.

Jean has known her father all her life. Yet, writing this book allowed her to meet him for the first time.

"My father was always crossing borders," Guerrero told me. "Between substance abuse and sobriety, between madness and sanity."

The heroine of the story is undoubtedly Guerrero's mother, and namesake, Puerto Rican-born Jeannette Del Valle, a physician who also maintained a home and raised two girls as a single mom without complaint. She loved Marco long after she reached the point where she couldn't live with him, and feared for her daughters' safety enough to ask him to leave. We all know someone like Jeannette -- playing the rotten hand she was dealt while putting her children first.

Guerrero admits that she has, for most of her life, had an "unhealthy obsession" with discovering what made her father tick -- even though he wasn't around. Heck, probably because he wasn't around.

Yet, ironically, it's her mother who had the greatest influence on her life.

"The truth is my relationship with my mother is even more complicated than my relationship with my father, and I don't think I could even begin to explore it through the page until I have children of my own," she said.

"I discovered my feminism and the amazing strength of the women in my family -- and myself -- through my journey in pursuit of my father."

And what other treasure did she find?

"I discovered that all my father ever wanted was to be heard," she said. "So now, in my work, I naturally gravitate to people who want to be heard."

No doubt, Guerrero finds a lot to gravitate to on the U.S.-Mexico border. And those hungry for a hearing are fortunate to have the ear of such a gifted storyteller.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.