"We are that grain of sand that doesn't belong on any beach and that never stops dreaming: to blend in with the crowd, but to be like no one else." Who hasn't dreamed of going unnoticed? Who hasn't dreamed of being accepted, appreciated for who they are? Isn't that what we tell our children so they can flourish: "be in harmony with yourself." For immigrants, the very principle of integration is based on this idea: to become a full member of the host society while retaining the essence of one's personality. From then on, political and societal discourse crystallized around this first generation of immigrants weakened by their expatriation. Since they were born in France, subsequent generations did not have an equivalent interest. But what about the 2005 riots in the suburbs? What can be said about the malaise of some of these young adults caught between societal and family demands? What can be said about their flight abroad once they graduate? Drawing on national and international statistical data, scientific publications, but also through his personal experience and the testimonies of young and old, the author offers a reflection on the question of integration and its impact on the identity of these children of foreigners. A quest for coherence on the borders of the intimate, for harmony of self, but also collective. Publication date: April 1, 2025 Order Press release

Aline has been at a loss since her husband Pierre disappeared this morning, June 15, 2016. Despite her bookstore in danger from the book giant Speedbooking, her four children with very different personalities, and the judgment of others, she has sworn to offer the best for them. At any cost. Between parents from whom Aline has been estranged for several years, a colorful family, only André, her secretive stepfather and former Doctors Without Borders in Madagascar, understands her. She will thus have to deal with her conflictual relationship with her eldest son François, a promising young talent in medical research, and her worries about the education of her two youngest, Castille and Auguste. In addition, her youngest, Jeanne, regularly disappears in the hope of finding her father, to the detriment of her medical studies. Convinced that this man was still alive somewhere, the student persists for six years until this mysterious message is discovered in her mother's inbox. What if "Jeanne was right" and she "was going to find Dad" because she had assured her little brother Auguste? Between everyday anecdotes, past wounds, humor and tenderness, this novel explores six years in the life of a family, where each member, despite their singularity, aspires only to overcome the void to find their place. Publication date: April 1, 2024 Order